Of Knights, Princesses, RWBY, and JNPR
by ShadowCinder333
Summary: Long ago in a far away land, lived eight very different souls. Fates will entwine as the Prince Jaune Arc of Vale sets off on a noble journey in search of the kidnapped Princess of Atlas. But as danger threatens to take over the world, it will take more than a clumsy knight to save the day. Medieval AU Rated T for Language and Violence. Current: Chap. 6 The Invincible Thief Part 2
1. Chapter 1: Prince Jaune of Vale

A/N: Here is my very first RWBY fanfiction. Hope you all enjoy and please leave a fave and review if you do!

**Prologue**

**Legends**

**Stories Scattered Through Time**

**Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits or heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts of a forgotten past**

**But of course, everyone knows that stories can only take us so far in knowing that happened, knowing what made us who we are.**

**Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful, but he was born in an unforgiving world.**

**An inevitable darkness, creatures of destruction.**

**The creatures of Grimm set their sights on man and all of his creations**

**But the Grimm were not the only ones with their eyes on destruction. Sure, they were strong and fast and deadly, but they were monsters, creatures with no soul and no feelings. Things that, with training and with the help of a little magic, could be defeated.**

**And yet, the world was still in turmoil. Five Kingdoms on the edge of war. Five Kingdoms with trouble brewing.**

**So, you can prepare your "guardians" and knights of valor, but will it be enough to get rid of the darkness that threatens to overcome?**

**Just because the monsters that plague your dreams at night are real, doesn't mean they are the ones you should be worrying about.**

* * *

**Arc Castle**

From the first day he started his training, Jaune knew he wasn't prepared to be a prince. Of course, though, he wasn't really given a choice. His parents, King John and Queen Alsea of Vale, never admitted it as well, but they knew Jaune was going to need a lot of encouragement and hard work to get him ready for his big day. Ever since he was born Jaune had been given expectations, duties, and a strict set of rules to follow. Plus, a peace treaty engagement to the country to the North, Atlas. He had to go through learning how to be a fighter, to being a king, then to being a good leader.

Unfortunately, Jaune was still on phase one.

_THWACK! _A sharp pain entered Jaune's leg as the wooden sword hit it roughly. Jaune held back a yell of pain and quickly jumped back.

"C'mon, Jaune," His father said, blue eyes narrowed, "Remember your stance, as well as where you should position your sword when I attack."  
"Sorry," Jaune said for the hundredth time. He hated sword fighting with his dad, as all he ever did just seemed to make him more disappointed. They were sparring in the Arc's Castle grounds and, like always, the prince was losing. Determined to at least get a good hit on his opponent Jaune readied his fighting stance again and held out his sword. His father looked at him, face expressionless, and prepared to attack. His sword jabbed at Jaune's left in a swift motion and Jaune quickly deflected the attack with a turn of his wrist. The swords clashed and Jaune then pulled back before taking the chance to strike. He hit his father's side before the king used struck his son's wrist with a hard crack. Jaune dropped the weapon in pain and bit his lip.

_So close, _He thought. King John picked up the weapon and handed it back to Jaune, "I think we should stop for the day."

"No, I can still do this," Jaune said, though not very convincingly. His wrist was had started to throb slightly. His father sighed, "Let's keep going, please."

"I have work to do," John said, "We're done for the day." He handed the weapons to a nearby servant before walking back towards the castle entrance, "The Schnee Family is coming today in preparation for the ball and I expect you to make a good impression."

"Trust me," Jaune said quietly, "I always do." The prince didn't even bother to follow, only turned around and walked out of the castle walls. He needed time to think.

* * *

_What am I going to do? _King John thought as he walked into the castle, _He can't fight, he can't even get a good hit on me without getting injured himself. _Several servants gave him concerned looks and John remembered to keep a smile on his face so others wouldn't have to worry, _the coronation is in just a few months and I can't risk him getting killed. _

"You're Majesty," A familiar voice said, and King John snapped out of his thoughts. Standing before him was a tall man. Graying hair stuck out from the sides and his clothes were anything but fancy. One hand held a steaming hot mug and the other a dark brown cane. John's eyes widened as soon as he realized who he was.

"Ozpin," He exclaimed, and opened up his arms "So good to see your back from Mistral." The two exchanged a friendly hug and the king noticed the cup of coffee in the old geezer's hand like always, "How was the trip?"

"Average, I suppose," His friend said before taking a sip of his drink, "The king and queen are expecting a new baby and they wanted my advice on the matter."  
"Well, you are a renowned sorcerer and sage," John pointed out, "But, tell me, dear Ozpin, the real meaning of why you are here. I'm sure you didn't come by here just to chat."  
"I wanted to talk to you about your son," Ozpin said, and stared at the king's frown with interest, "I noticed your duel."  
"I hardly doubt that was a duel," John said, and tried to pull off a chuckle. But Ozpin could see the pained expression on his face. He put a hand on the king's shoulder.

"John, why are you so worried?" Ozpin asked. John sighed and his eyes darted to the floor. Ozpin was his friend, his trusted friend, for that matter. So why not get it out?

"For the past seventeen years I've been trying," John said, "Trying so hard to get him to become the prince he needs to be. But…I'm afraid Jaune's just not ready."  
"Hmm," Ozpin mused, signaling that he was deep in thought, "Do you think that _he _thinks he's not ready?" His friend looked at him quizzically.

"What on earth do you mean?"  
"I mean, does Jaune believe that he is ready? We all know his time to become king is drawing closer, yet, I believe that he does not think himself worthy of it." John took Ozpin's words in slowly and sighed once more.

"I suppose he doesn't," John admitted, "But why would he think that?"  
"That, my friend, is something you are going to have to figure out yourself."

"Why must you be so cryptic?"  
"It's my job, John. You know that best." Ozpin gave a smug grin and started to walk away, "Keep trying, John. Oh, and make sure to say hi to the Schnee Family when they visit for me. I'm not sure, though, if I should attend the ball or not."  
"You should. No criminal would dare try and sneak in with you in there," John half-joked. Ozpin was known for his powerful abilities.

"Very well, if you request it, your majesty," Ozpin said.

"I shall see you there, than," John said before heading off. He had to get ready for the Schnees.

* * *

Jaune sat under the willow tree in silence, with the only sound coming from the cool breeze blowing in from the North. That's one of the reasons he was glad being born in Vale, it never got too hot nor too cold. His back was against the hard trunk and the leaves from the tree allowed him to hide in comfort. Eyes closed, and no one disturbing his peace.

"Prince Jaune, I know you're in there," Came a blunt voice.

Almost no one. Dammit. But why on earth would _he_ be here? Jaune had only shown him his hiding spot when they were kids that one day when he was feeling down.

"Ren," Jaune said, "Please go away." He heard the sound of footsteps and the willow leaves parted as a young man stepped in. He had night black hair that seemed messy and long, a single piece dyed magenta. His eyes were the same color and his clothes a dark green. Jaune knew that Ren was the only servant who wore colorful clothing.

"What happened this time Prince Jaune?" Ren asked, and sat down besides the prince. He knew Jaune well enough to know that he came to the hiding spot when he was upset.

"I told you not to call me that. And…I lost a duel…again," Jaune mumbled, and put his head into his hands, "I am so bad at being a prince."  
"Don't say that," Ren said flatly. He didn't like to speak with emotion a lot, "I'm sure you're okay at doing it." Truth be told, the servant boy had no idea what being a royal was like, "Sometimes people just mess up."

"I mess up all the time," Jaune groaned, and looked Ren in the eyes, "I mean, how am I supposed to be a king when I can't even fight right?" Ren started at his despairing friend and sighed. For the seven years the two had known each other, ever since he had come to castle and became his assigned playmate, Ren had gotten to know Jaune a lot, not just for his royal title, but for who he was.

"Listen," Ren said, "Have you ever tried talking to your father about all of this. Or your mother?"  
"No," Jaune said, "It's too hard. Every time I try to I always remember the disappointment that he feels when I fail. If I talk to him I'll end up failing even more."

"How so?" Ren asked.

"Because I'm an Arc," Jaune said miserably, "And that means were supposed to be tough, fierce, and to do things by ourselves. To be natural born leaders and fighters." They sat in silence for a few moments.

"I think you should talk to him," Ren said, "Just because you want to talk, or want to ask for help, doesn't make you less of an Arc than you are. Prince Jaune, your coronations in five months and everyone's expecting you to be a hero."

"I know, I know," Jaune said.

"-and the only way for that is if you let a little bit of air out of your head and learn to ask for help. I'm sure if you explain to your father the pressure and stress you have on your shoulders he'll understand completely."

Jaune stared him. It was times like these he felt grateful that Ren was his friend, even though in the beginning he didn't really have a choice. He remembered when they were both introduced to one another. It was nothing like when he had to meet his future partner from Atlas, stiff and formal, but instead this encounter was mellower, more open-minded, and because of that the two got along fairly well. Ren put up with Jaune's troubles, and at times the prince wondered how he could stand hearing him ramble on so much.

He just guessed Ren was born as a naturally patient guy.

"Okay, yeah," Jaune said, "I'll go talk to him. If I can find him, that is. The Schnee Family will be here soon and I have to get ready." He stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants. Being a prince meant that he wasn't supposed to get his royal clothes soiled to much but his parents weren't that uptight about presentation.

The Schnees however, were, so Jaune knew better than to show up in clothes mixed with sweat and dirt. Ren followed him out from the willow tree and said goodbye to his friend before heading off.

"Hey, are you going to be at the ball?" Jaune asked before he was out of earshot. Most of the servants were required to help out.

"Probably," Ren answered, and Jaune let out a relieved breath. Maybe Ren could help him calm down before he had to dance with his fiancé, "See you later, prince Jaune."  
"See you later, Ren. And don't call me that!"

* * *

**On a Road to the Arc Castle**

The carriage bounced along with dusty road in silence. It was a luxurious ride, one that only the very rich could afford, and rich was one word to describe the Schnee family. The others some people couldn't say unless they wanted their heads chopped off. A certain white haired girl looked out the window, a feeling of anxiousness in her mind. Since this was a special occasion she was forced to wear a frilly white dress with a corset so tight she could barely breathe, a dress she absolutely hated. But of course, she kept her mouth shut. Her hands were politely folded on top of her lap and her legs positioned like a princess. Her parents were also silent, both dressed up in fancy attire just right for the upcoming ball.

_Two days, _she thought to herself, _Two days until one of the biggest nights of my life. _The dance would officially mark her and Jaune Arc as a couple, but not married. The marriage wasn't until after he was crowned king. The very thought made her sigh.

The first time they met, both of them knew they weren't meant for one another. Sure, he was nice and tried to act like the prince he was, but Weiss could tell he was different. She just couldn't explain what it was. Maybe the way he could make things awkward around them or that he didn't want to be a prince. Weiss had her moments when royalty seemed a pain in the head, but she still preferred it over being poor and starving. Every year since they were twelve, the two were forced to spend time together either in his castle, or hers. It was a long trip to take and she dreaded every minute of it. Vale's heat was unbearable, as the princess was used to the nice frigid cold up in Atlas's north. There was also the fact that she had to sit in a stuffy vehicle for over a number of days.

In order to pass the time, Weiss studied her parents. They looked more like her future husband's than hers. Silvery blond hair, gray eyes. It was a wonder why she turned out the way she did. Her appearance wasn't easy to deal with, especially since it led to a plethora of names.

"Mother, father," Weiss said in a polite tone, "When shall we reach the castle."  
"In time, dear," Her mother said, "Maybe a couple of minutes or so? I see we have passed some villages so it mustn't' be far." Weiss had visited Jaune's castle to know the layout of the land. His home was surrounded by towns, unlike her own which were isolated from rebellious peasants. Weiss looked out the window again and indeed saw multiple peasants staring at the carriage. Their clothes were torn and dirty and her face crinkled a little at the sight of a group of children playing with pigs in the mud. It amazed her how some people were able to live like that. Suddenly, the carriage stopped and shouting was heard. The carriage started to shake and her father opened the door to see what the ruckus was.

"Benjamin, what in the world of Remnant is going on?" He yelled.

"Sir, um-"Her driver's words were blocked out by yelling and screaming. Weiss's eyes widened as she saw that the village people were starting to advance towards the carriage, faces fuming with hate.

"Mother…" She said. The queen quickly grabbed her husband's shirt.

"William, this is getting out of hand," Her mother exclaimed.

"You're a disgrace to humans!" Weiss heard a villager said.

_How dare you insult me! _Weiss thought loudly and barely contained herself from standing up.

"Get outta our land, you greedy beasts!" Another yelled. Weiss flinched at the man's tone. Her confidence faded a bit.

"No good killers," A woman shouted. This was absurd; they were Schnees for Remnant's sake! She turned to her father who was trying to calm the people down.

"You think can control your people, us, by a stupid contract!?" Another lady screamed. What was she talking about?

"William!" Her mother said. A sudden pain filled Weiss's head and she fell to the carriage ground. Something warm went down her face and her vision blurred slightly.

_What the-_She heard someone yelling her name but their voices were muffled. She blinked and stared at the ground. _Why is the floor red? _

"Arc's Guards. No one move!" Someone shouted off in the distance.

"Weiss!" She heard her mother scream again. _What's wrong? _She felt sturdy arms go around her waist and the last thing she saw was a bloodied rock on the ground.

* * *

Jaune looked at himself as he stood in front of the mirror. It had been about twenty minutes since the talk with Ren and he couldn't find his father. Seeing there was nothing else to do, he decided to get ready for the Atlas arrivers. His outfit consisted of a dark red vest with golden buttons the same color as his hair going down the middle. Underneath was a white shirt with annoying cuffs Jaune kept getting stuck on things. He wore royal blue pants and his black boots that were a bit too tight. He would probably have to ask for new ones before the coronation. A brown belt went over his waist and to top it off, a small, yellow crown rested on his head.

_I don't deserve this, _He thought sadly, and took it off. Holding it in his hands Jaune remembered the day he got it. He had just turned ten and was learning the basics of horseback riding. Unfortunately, thanks to his clumsiness, he ended up getting thrown off the unlucky steed and broke his arm. As a make-up gift his father gave him the crown as an early birthday gift. Back then, it didn't matter if he made a mistake.

_But now it does, _his mind whispered, causing Jaune to frown. His mind was right, though. He reluctantly put the crown back on his head and made sure to sweep the strands of hair from his eyes. The Schnees would be there any minute. Determined not to fail this time, Jaune straightened up and practiced holding out his hand to the fair maiden while bowing at the same time.

"Miss Schnee," Jaune said in a respectful manner, his voice still not deepened like other teens his age, "It is a pleasure to see you again." He lowered his head a bit more.

The crown slipped off and fell onto the ground with a clatter. Jaune quickly grabbed it and put it back on his head.

_Great, Jaune. You've already messed things up and you're not even with her yet. _Jaune knew one of his duties was to get the young princess to like him, if not love. And for the past few years he'd been shot down more by Weiss more than he could count. Oh, why couldn't he be more suave like his father was to his mother?  
"Prince Jaune?" A voice said, and the prince turned around. Ren was standing there with a hint of amusement on his face; an emotion Jaune rarely got to see, "What are you doing?"  
Jaune's face instantly turned red and he fumbled for the right words, "I-um. I…was-"  
"Practicing?" Ren finished for him.

"Something like that," Jaune said sheepishly, "How much did you see?"  
"Enough," Ren said, "But I came here to tell you that your father requests you come down to the throne room immediately. An emergency has come up."  
An emergency? Jaune only nodded and went past Ren out of the room. Emergencies rarely came up in Vale, as the country was in a time of peace. He ran past dozens of servants and guards before entering the ginormous grand throne room. When Jaune was little he would often come down there just to relax, or study the paintings that occupied the walls. It was a spacious area, with multiple pillars going down the middle and a long blood red rug that was positioned in between. At the end of the rug, and the room, lied three large thrones, two slightly smaller than the one in the middle. Jaune could see his father was pacing back and forth with his wife by his side. Jaune quietly walked up and caught some of their conversation.

"-attacked. This is getting of control, Alsea," His father grumbled.

"John, relax," His mother said, a hint of fear in her voice. "What matters now is making sure that Weiss is alright."  
"What's wrong?" Jaune asked, unable to contain himself. "Did Weiss get hurt on her way here?"

Both his parents jumped at their son's question and looked at him in surprise.

"Yes, dear," His mother said, "Weiss and her family were attacked." Jaune inhaled a sharp breath, "Weiss was injured on the head but thankfully they were close enough to the castle to get here in time. She's in the guest room healing up a bit."  
"What happened?" Jaune questioned. The parents glanced at each other in a way that only they would understand.

"The Schnee Family isn't the most…likable group of people by some. Many believe that they use their wealth and riches to only help themselves, and treat their slaves harshly." Jaune only nodded. He didn't know much about Weiss's family, as the girl was hard to talk to, but he did learn about their controversial labor methods and poverty-stricken land.

"And, unfortunately, the hate for them has spread into Vale," King John stated, a grim look on his face, "Our people attacked them not far from here, in hopes of getting their message out, I suppose."

Jaune didn't know what to say. Sure, he thought Weiss was a bit snobbish sometimes, but inside she was just a confused person caught up in a royal life she never asked for. And he was a hundred percent sure that hurting wasn't the right thing to do.

"When can I see her?" Jaune asked.

"Later, at dinner," His mother said, "The Schnees are a bit riled from what transpired so we're given them time to cool down a bit."  
In other words, let their steam blow off so they didn't lash at every servant or person that looked them in the eyes. Jaune understood completely.

"Well," Alsea said, "I'm going to go water the flowers in the garden, as they seemed a bit dead today. I shall you two fine gentlemen later tonight." She gracefully walked down the red carpet and out of the castle. How she managed to put on a calm demeanor in a time like this frazzled the prince.

_Now's your chance, _Jaune thought, _talk to him about how you feel, _"Uh, father?" The king looked at his son curiously, "I was wondering if…I could…" He trailed off.

"Yes, son?" John said. He was glad that Jaune was giving them the chance to chat, as he also needed to get some things off his chest, "What is it?"

Jaune looked down at the floor, then at his father's eyes, before running off. His face was red and he bit his lip to keep from berating himself. Why couldn't he just spit it out?! How hard was it to say he was pressured, to tell him how troubled he was about becoming king?

In the middle of the room, King John sadly stared at his son's departure. And, somehow, he could guess what he was going to say.

* * *

Weiss had woken up to a nasty headache. Her mind and vision were still foggy and she wasn't able to properly think until a few minutes had passed. When she had gotten up a servant waiting for her informed her of what happened; her family's carriage was attacked and she was hit on the head with a rock. One of her scars had reopened and it she was promptly taken to the Arc Castle to be healed.

"How long have I been out?" Weiss asked and looked around the room. She recognized it as the one she stayed in every year when she came to Vale.

"About forty-five minutes," He said, "I'm dreadfully sorry about your dress. It looked wonderful." Weiss gave a confused glance before looking down at her once white gown, now covered in bloody stains. She sighed and asked where her parents might be, "I have been informed that they have gone to have a talk with John Arc about the occurrence, Miss. And have also been told that they ordered you to stay rested and try and relax. Dinner will begin in about two hours." Weiss held in a groan laid back on the soft, velvet pillow she was on.

"Um, Miss?" The servant said.

"What?" Weiss snapped, and he backed up, "Sorry."  
"It's alright, Miss." She was really starting to get annoyed by all the "Misses", "It's just that since your dress was soiled, your mother put a new one on the bedside dresser." Weiss immediately perked up and looked to her left. Sure enough, a sparkling white dress with thin straps and a design of pearls was sitting there, waiting to be put on. Beside the dress were the signature crystal crown that she was to wear, and the pair of glass shoes.

"If you wouldn't mind," Weiss said, "But I would like to change into it now." The servant nodded and left the room. Weiss stood up, almost fell from blood loss, then regained her composure. She walked over to the dresser and quickly changed clothing. The dress was silky, smooth, and not the least bit tight. Why hadn't her mother showed her that one before? Next, she slipped on the shoes and giggled like a five year old as they fit perfectly. And last, but not least, she carefully grabbed the delicate tiara and placed it on top of her head. It was almost invisible in her snow-white hair, but you could still make out where it was thanks to the glowing green gem of dust in the middle. Being a Schnee meant more than being royalty; it meant being a renowned dust user and owner.

Like Jaune, Weiss had her share of bedtime stories when she was a little kid. Of course, none of her parents had time to do so, but her nanny did. And one in particular caught the young princess's attention; The Story of Dust.

A long time ago, even before Remnant was created and named, man was born from the earth. Wise, resourceful, and smart, man had high hopes of becoming something great.

But, as the humans began to live their lives, creatures of darkness, the Grimm, set their eyes on destroying man's existence. Lives were lost, homes destroyed, and it seemed like in the end they would prevail.

However, even the smallest flicker of hope will turn in a flame, and mankind found something that evened the odds; Dust. Extremely powerful dust was used to drive away the darkness, to win the war. And from there on out the Grimm have been scarce.

"But why isn't there more dust in the world?" Weiss had asked her nanny.

"Because most of it was used to defeat the monsters. There was hardly any left in the aftermath," Her nanny explained, "Your family's one of the last to use it anymore. It's dangerous, yet beautiful, and I know that it'll do great things in you'll life. But remember, even if you don't have dust, you can still go a long way. You'll still be someone."

From that night on, Weiss was determined to become someone great, even if dust was dying out. She vowed to always be the best she can be, and not let anyone get in the way of that.

* * *

**The Royal Dining Room**

It didn't take two and two to know that things were tense at dinner. Nobody would talk, no one would look each other in the eye. Jaune and his family sat on one end of the table while Weiss and hers sat on the other. And the two betrothed had a feeling that if they didn't do something soon someone was going to explode.

Most likely Weiss's father, Jaune knew that the man had a horrible temper.

"So," Weiss said, her hand fidgeting under the table where no one could see it, "King John and Queen Alsea. How have things been for the past few weeks?" Jaune gave her look that said, 'thank you for saving our asses.'

"Besides attacks," She heard her father mumble next to her.

"Things have been running very smoothly," King John said, ignoring the rude remark, "We have recently managed to open trade with Vacuo again since the stormy weather has died down."  
"That is a good thing indeed," Weiss said, "Jaune, how have you been this past year?"  
Jaune looked up from his plate and gulped, "Fine, I suppose. There hasn't really been that much happening for me besides more sword training."  
"How's that been?"

"Okay," Jaune lied. Weiss could tell he wanted to avoid the topic. A few servants came into the room to deliver some more wine and food. To Jaune's surprise, Ren was one of them. He looked at his friend, and, hoping that no one was looking, mouthed, 'why are you here?' Ren, even though his face remained passive, mouthed back, 'what does it look like?'

"So, Jaune," King Schnee said, and Jaune was forced to turn his attention elsewhere, "Since you are going to marry my daughter in less than a year, I need to know if I'm choosing the right man."

Jaune gulped and glanced at Ren who was setting down a plate.

"So, tell me, are you capable of defending her?"  
"Father!" Weiss sharply said, "You know I am perfectly capable of protecting myself."  
"Yes, but I was just wondering!" Her father defended. "I don't want anything happening to you while you're here."

"Your daughter will be fine, King Schnee," Alsea assured in her calm, yet firm voice. Jaune looked at Ren again and saw that he was pouring some wine into Weiss's mother's goblet.

"I want to hear that statement from the boy himself," King Schnee said.

"A-as your daughter's f-future husband," Jaune stuttered, and he felt his cheeks turn red, "I can assure you that I will risk my life to protect your daughter." Weiss felt rather surprised that he managed to say all that without totally failing. Her father was a hard man to hold a conversation with.

"Good because-"King Schnee's sentence was cut off by his wife's shriek. Every head turned to what had happened and Jaune felt the air in his lungs disappear.

Ren had accidently spilled the bottle of wine onto the Queen's lap. He must have been paying too much attention to Jaune. The black haired boy immediately let out an apology as the Queen tried to wipe off the mess. In a split second her husband ran sat up and grabbed Ren's arm before jerking it back.

"William!" Jaune's father yelled, and stood up. Everyone became silent, "Calm down, dear god."

"This boy just spilled wine all over her lap and you expect me to stay calm?"  
_Yes, _Jaune thought. It was just an accident. But accidents didn't settle well with the king of Atlas.

"Please, sir," Ren said, and Jaune looked at Weiss in pleading. Her facial response back told him that she didn't have the power to do anything.

"I demand this boy pay for what he has done," King William sneered, his wife remained still and silent.

"I admit he made a mistake, William," Alsea said, her voice trying to remain calm, "But he does not deserve punishment."

"I come into your land to make peace," William said harshly, "And this is how you repay me? By getting my family attacked, by getting my daughter hurt?"  
No one dared to say a word. Jaune could see the beads of sweat appearing on his friends face.

"And now this lousy slave just poured wine all over my wife. I think that everything that's happened today allows me to decide what to do with him."

"William. I know that today hasn't been the best. But this is not the way to handle it. Let Ren go."

"You talk about your servants like they mean something," William snarled, and Jaune felt anger rising in his veins. This man, no matter what his title, had the right to act like that, "How quaint."

"The only one quaint here is you!" Jaune said, and rose out of his seat. Weiss gasped a little as he challenged her father. The prince's face turned pink as he realized his lame comeback, "I mean, er, you don't have the right to do this!" Still a bit lame, but better than before. King William's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he pulled Red along with him as he walked around the table.

"I shall forgive you for your outburst as I know your too naïve and young to understand how life works, Jaune." Hearing his name said put shivers down Jaune's spine, "Twenty lashes."

"No way in Remnant are you hurting my_ friend_," Jaune said, a feeling of defiance forming inside his gut.

"Young Arc, I suggest you listen carefully to what I am about to say," William said coldly, "The world is something I like to call, unfair. And some people need to be put in their place because it's for the best for everyone. If people got away with doing things like this all the time, then chaos would erupt." His grip hardened, "John. Your boy needs to learn where some people stand in society. I suggest having him watch the whipping."

"That is too far," John said, voice rising to a shout, "You have no right to do this, under my house nevertheless."  
"So you agree the boy deserves it?"  
"I agree he deserves some sort of punishment, but a whipping is too much."

William thought about this statement, then looked at Jaune with a malicious glare, "Very well then-"

Jaune managed to somewhat relax.

"But. Your boy still needs to learn the meaning of a class system. A slave cannot be a friend and will never be a friend to a royal. And if both sides agree on that matter than something is severely wrong. I demand that this slave be sent away for a week…" William looked at Jaune, "With me."

"With you?!" Weiss and Jaune both said at the same time. They looked at one another in shock.

_Maybe Weiss isn't enjoying this either, _Jaune thought.

"While he's with me I shall teach this piece of scum where he belongs," King Schnee said.

"Father, I highly believe-"  
"Quiet, Weiss!" Her father yelled. The princess shut her mouth in defeat, "So, King John," His voice seemed to mock the title, "Do you accept? Or will I have to take more drastic measures?"  
_Drastic measures? What the hell does he mean? _Jaune thought.

King John stared at his opponent, an expressionless look on his face. For the past years he knew William, John had come to the conclusion that he was not a man to be messed with. He had secrets, secrets that could destroy Vale and the ones he loved within a few months. And, truth be told, this one not the first time William had blackmailed him. If only this moment came a few months later, then John would have the upper hand. He couldn't let Vale, or the world, be put at William's mercy, and in a normal situation taking a servant boy would be no big deal. But, unknown to everyone except him, Ren wasn't your average servant.

"Times a' ticking," King William cruelly teased. The king looked at his son with an apologetic look. He had decided. He needed more time and this was the only way to get it, to finally finish the plan to William's downfall.

_NO! _Jaune's mind screamed.

"Fine then. I accept your offer."

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed. I've never done a RWBY fanfic before but this seems really fun! Please Read and Review, and don't be afraid to add constructive criticism.


	2. Chapter 2: The Royal Ball

A/N: Thank you guys so much for all the nice reviews an faves and follows. I hope you like this next chapter. It has a few twists and a new character will be unofficially introduced, but I guarantee you'll be able to guess who it is. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, Roosterteeth does. I do own my OC characters though. (King John, Alsea, etc)

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Royal Ball**

_**But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone... darkness will return.**_

2 hours. 2 hours 17 minutes and 13 seconds Jaune had been missing. Weiss stomped down the hallways, not caring about the weird looks she was getting. For a prince that boy was more trouble than she imagined. Ever since her father had literally dragged that servant boy out of the dining room no one had seen the blond haired boy. Ever since he ran out of the room, face fuming and fists clenched. Throughout the years they spent with each other Weiss had never seen him so angry. Why would he get so mad about a servant? Surely they weren't truly friends; it's just that he didn't like seeing the abusive treatment.

Right?

It didn't matter anyways. Weiss had bigger problems. She had been tracking him down all over the castle grounds using her dust in hopes of getting the dunce back. Since dust was common in her family life, she had learned its effects, as well as how to properly use it. Red dust for fire, blue for ice, the list went on and on. But gray was used to find people. It didn't take much, only a sprinkle of someone's hair or a drop of blood. Thankfully Jaune didn't keep his room cleaned nor locked, and she found a suitable strand of gold in his clothes. After that all she had to do was put it on the crystal and hold it out. When near the objective it would glow brighter, when not, it wouldn't glow at all. So far she had ruled out the courtyard, training fields, sports fields, and basically anywhere in the West, South, and East side of the castle.

Yep, totally easy. Her patience was about to go well past the breaking point when the piece of dust finally let out a low glimmer.

_Huh, what in Remnant? _Weiss thought. The crystal was pointing towards an abandoned field. _Why would he be out there? _The princess sighed, then, while trying not to get her dress dirty, trudged through the dirt.

* * *

"Jaune?" A voice said. The prince looked up from the ground and saw a silhouette outside the willow leaves, "Jaune, I know you're here." It was Weiss.

_Great, just great, just what I needed_. Jaune thought, _how did she even find this place?_

"Jaune?" Weiss said again. Maybe if he was quiet enough she would go away. A faint breeze blew across his face and he shivered.

"Jau-oh for Remnants sake," Weiss pushed away the vines and glowered at her fiancé, arms crossed, "Jaune, what are you doing here?"

"How'd you fine me?" Jaune asked, not meeting her gaze.

"I used tracking dust," Weiss said, as if the answer was obvious.

"Please, just go away." Jaune sighed.

"And why on earth would I just leave you here? Your father has been looking for you everywhere!"

"I don't want to see him," Jaune said flatly.

"Wait," Weiss said, the truth slowly dawning onto her, "That slave really was your friend, wasn't he?"

"What do you mean?" Jaune said, "Of course he was. And his name's Ren."

"I just thought that you were trying to protect him," Weiss said, still trying to wrap her head around the idea of a slave and a royal being friends, "I guess not, though."

"What do you want, anyways?"

"I wanted to talk," The white haired girl said simply, "I truly am sorry about what happened though."

"Why would you care?" Jaune bitterly, and Weiss could see how much he was hurting. Her voice softened a bit.

"Because, like it or not I am your…friend. Okay? Just because we don't love each other doesn't mean that we can't be that. And…"She tried to think of what friends did, "Friends…help one another." Jaune noticed the end of her sentence went an octave up, like she was unsure of herself.

"Weiss, did you ever have a friend?" Jaune asked. The princess immediately scowled and put her hands to her hips. "Of course you imbecile!" She said loudly, "I just…they've been busy and I've forgotten the basics."

"There are no such things as "basics" in friendship," Jaune stated, "But, okay, whatever you say…snow angel." He smirked as Weiss gave him a death glare; Jaune knew she hated that nickname he gave her. For a split second he forgot what he was upset about.

"So, what are you going to do?" Weiss asked, and Jaune remembered the unfortunate predicament he was in.

"I don't know," Jaune admitted, "I don't even think there's anything I can do, for that matter. Curse your father," He stopped and put his hands over his mouth, "Weiss I'm-"

"Shut it, dunce," Weiss said, but she wasn't angry, "I understand. If I were in your position I would be mad too." Jaune looked at her, "My father was just frustrated about the day's events and I feel terrible he took it out on your servant boy."  
"Ren," Jaune corrected, "And don't feel that way, it wasn't your fault and you couldn't do anything about it."  
"Still," Weiss said softly, "He's done that before, mistreated others, I mean. It doesn't get any better every time I witness it." Jaune was shocked; the ice princess seemed to actually melt for a sec.

She turned to him, "But, why in the world of Remnant are you two friends, let alone talk to each other?"  
And… she was back.

"We've always had, I guess," He said, trying not to be too mean. He knew Weiss wasn't being rude on purpose, it was how she was raised, "Ever since he came to my castle when I was ten we've been friends. It didn't matter what class you were in, to my family. All that mattered was who you were inside." Weiss looked down at the ground and took in his words carefully. Still, though, the princess was stubborn. Peasants had caused her so much trouble when she was young. Pain, even. When her father would come home after another riot or rebellion and-

She shook her head as Jaune continued.

"-we would play together often. And he would put up with my problems and ramblings about how much I hated being a prince or doing this or that," Jaune took a deep breath, "It's odd, though."

"What is?" Weiss asked.

"All these years and I never learned anything about himself or his past. I mean, I caught a few facts here and there but he never talked to me about his family or life before. He didn't even have family when he came to Vale."  
"He wasn't from Vale?"

"No. Strange, huh? He was born in another country far away from here. But that's about it."  
"I'm not surprised, really," Weiss said, and actually found herself enjoying talking to Jaune, "In Atlas slaves in my father's castle aren't allowed to talk about themselves, only obey. But…maybe if it was different here, then he just found his past too difficult to talk about."

"Maybe your right, but I just wish I found out more about him before…he leaves,"

"As sentimental this is," Weiss said, remembering the real reason she tracked Jaune down, "That wasn't the main reason why I came. Listen, I know that your friend is gone and things look bad. But have you forgotten what's coming up?"  
"Huh?"

"The Royal Ball, you imbecile! The day we're marked as a couple and unofficially join Atlas and Vale as allies!" She huffed.  
"Your point?"  
"I know your upset, I know your mad," Weiss started to pace around, something she never almost did, "But you can't let this ruin our countries."

"What do you mean our countries?" Jaune said, "I'm not even king yet, I don't even deserve to be king!"  
"I mean that even though we're not the leader of our people yet, doesn't mean it's not our job to look after them. Do you even remember why we're doing this, Jaune? To protect everyone! And just because something bad happens doesn't mean we give up, it doesn't mean we start to sulk around and act like kids!" Jaune stared at Weiss's raging face and closed his eyes.

"I know, I know," He said weakly. Weiss crossed her arms again and sighed.

"When we become King and Queen, Jaune, there's going to be so much more than this. Everyone's counting on us to be there for them, to be their heroes. And this ball is just an example of what we have to do to show them just that."

"Everything just seems so messed up."

"I know. Trust me," The Atlas princess started to turn away, her voice sharp and cold, "We're royals, Jaune. And that means we can't afford to make mistakes. Try to get that in your head before the ball."

* * *

**One Flight of Stairs Beneath the Castle Grounds**

**About Two Days Later**

Out of all the conflicting feelings Ren was having, boredom was one that he didn't expect. He thought he would feel more sad, or angry, or even afraid. However the more he thought about it, the more banal he became. Living out your last days of humanity stuck in a jail cell in the Arc Castle made you feel that way. At least he wanted something, _anything, _to do before he was sent to Atlas.

But, nope, he was stuck in grimy cell #14 lying against the walls. His eyes were closed and his stomach grumbling. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he had guessed maybe two days or so? Recently there had been a lot of commotion going on, so he predicted that the ball was about to begin. That, or, the kitchen set on fire. But the former seemed more correct. He wondered how Jaune was doing, as the last thing he saw before getting dragged out of the room was his friend running away. He probably went back to the Willow tree to clear his head like always.

_Click, _the sound of a lock being open echoed through the cell, and Ren opened his eyes. A small line of light appeared and he saw that someone was opening the door.

"Jaune?" He asked.

"Not even close," The voice said, and Ren sighed. It was Weiss.

Wait.

"Weiss?!" Ren said, almost shouting, "I mean-"  
"Save it, peasant," She said, and Ren felt himself smirking. Weiss could be as cold as ice, something he learned over the years of her visits, "No one, not even Jaune, knows I'm-" She groaned as she looked around the cell, "-down her in this dingy place." She wasn't wearing her traditional clothing, probably not to get it messed up in the scum of the dungeons.  
"It's more like disgusting really," Ren mused.

"I thought that someone like yourself would be used to these conditions."  
"Well, I'm not. I lived in the servant quarters in the castle," Ren said flatly, "And may I ask you what you're doing down here?"

"I came to say that I'm sorry about what happened," Weiss said, feeling pang of guilt.

"Why? It wasn't your fault."  
"Jaune said the same thing, but it doesn't make the guilt lessen anymore."  
"Well, Miss Schnee. I forgive you I guess, if it makes you feel better. But, do I have permission to ask what's go on up there?"  
"Granted. And for your information, the balls about to begin in a few hours."  
"How's Jaune?" Ren asked.

"I managed to set him straight and stop his sulking," Weiss said simply, "In order words he's trying his best to put on a smile."  
"Oh," At least Jaune was…okay.

"He's worried, that's a fact," Weiss said, "My family and I are prepped to leave a few days after the ball ends. I suppose that's all the news I have though," She began to leave.

"Wait," Ren said, "One more thing."

"What is it?" Weiss said rudely, afraid that if she stayed any longer her father would get suspicious.

"Good luck, Miss Schnee." Ren said and saw her face soften a bit.

"I'm not the one that deserves that luck," She said sadly, and with those words closed the door.

* * *

**Time: 10:00 at Night**

**The Royal Ball Room**

Jaune carefully adjusted the crown on his head so that it wouldn't slide off. He was standing behind a large, velvet curtain, with the princess of Atlas right next to him. And he even though he wasn't attracted to her, Jaune had to admit that she looked stunning. Her outfit was different than the one she wore at the dinner, with a light blue and white dress that went down to the floor. Her sleeves went past her wrists and hung loosely next to her sides. Jaune couldn't see her feet but he predicted that she was wearing the same glass slippers as before. Not the best for dancing but, hopefully, they wouldn't have to do most of that anyways. Her hair was swept up in a tight bun, complete with a sparkling tiara with a tiny green gem in the middle. Unlike the prince, Weiss was perfectly still and silent, only listening to the guests and servants doing their business behind the curtain. It wasn't time for their entrance yet.

"Prince Jaune and Princess Schnee," A voice said, and the two turned to the person who had spoken. Jaune recognized the man immediately; it was his father's friend, Ozpin.

"Yes?" Weiss said politely, "What do you need?"

"I just came to wish you two the best of luck in the future to come," The old man said. Weiss noticed the steaming cup of brown liquid in his hand and gave a confused look, "This is coffee. And the main reason why I'm still alive and active today. They don't have this sort of drink in Atlas?" Weiss shook her head, "Very delicious though. You should try it someday." She merely frowned and turned her attention away from him.

"Ozpin?" Jaune said reluctantly. The wizard looked at the royal, "Can I ask you something?"  
"Anything."

"Is my father mad at me?"

"Why on earth would you ask that?"  
"I-I just suspected he would, after I stormed off that night," Jaune looked at his feet and swayed back and forth.

"Well," Ozpin said, put his free hand on his shoulder, "He's not, only mad at himself."  
"Why?"

"Because he's guilty that he wasn't able to take care of William sooner." Ozpin turned around and started to walk away.

"Wait-what?" Jaune said in a confused tone, "What do-"

"Attention, my people!" A voice shouted through all the talking. Weiss grabbed Jaune's arm quickly and shook it.

"We're getting ready to go on," She hissed quietly. Jaune could hear his father's words bellow throughout the room. He and the princess locked their arms together and Jaune felt himself go a bit red.

"Don't flatter yourself," Weiss smirked.

"As you all know, we are here to celebrate my son, Prince Jaune-"His father proclaimed.

_I don't deserve this, _Jaune thought.

"And Weiss Schnee, Princess of Atlas!" A loud round of applause was given, "They are symbols of the peace that Atlas and Vale are now in, as well as a new era for us all! We are proud to have them together. I for one, am proud of my son."

_What did he just say now? _Jaune couldn't help as look of shock went across his face.

"He cares, you know," Weiss said, a bit of envy in her voice. Jaune looked at her.

"So, without further ado-," The king said.

"You ready milady?" Jaune said. He noticed she was putting on a fake smile.

"I'm always ready," She said bluntly, "Are you?"

"-I present to you're the future King and Queen of Vale!" The sound of clapping appeared and the curtains drew back soon after. Jaune's vision was blinded from all the bright lights and he blinked a couple of times. There were a multitude of people, both rich and poor, applauding the couple as they descended down the aisle. Weiss waved with her free hand and smiled so much Jaune thought it she looked pained. He looked above him and saw the chandelier shining down on them, showing off the prince and princess. He grinned slightly and saw Weiss's parents, along with his standing on top of the stage at the end of the room. His father had a look of pride on his face.

_Maybe he really isn't mad at me, _Jaune thought and waved at the crowd. After what seemed like ages the two ran out of aisle to walk down and stood next to steps leading to the stage. King John raised his hand to silence the people, and motioned for Weiss and Jaune to come up next to them. The new couple climbed the stairs and stopped a few feet away. No one moved in the room, anticipating what was coming next. King John looked at his son before waving his hand, ordering a servant to bring a wide, dark violet box. Confusion spread through Jaune and he was about to ask what it was when his father spoke.

"My son," King John said, and put his hand on his shoulder. "As you know, it will soon be time for you to take my spot as ruler of Vale." Weiss stared at Jaune's uneasy face. In truth, she also was also uneasy about something, but not him. Something seemed to be off...

"Thank you, father," Jaune said, trying not to stutter his words. His dad opened the box and  
to the blond's surprise, a gleaming sword and shield were resting inside it. They were simple enough, the sword having a blue handle and the blade being a respectable length. The shield was blue too, and was outlined in gold. A flicker of a memory went across his mind, "Isn't that yours?"  
His father took the sword out and held it forwards, the light shining off of it with a radiant glow, "Yes, Jaune. This used to be mine. But, what I didn't tell you was that it was also your grandfather's and his father before, and so on."

"Stunning," Weiss whispered, "That something so old could survive so long."  
"Yes, it is remarkable," King John chuckled, "It is tradition for the father to pass on these two relics during a certain point in their son's lifetime. And I believe tonight is that night. Jaune?"

Jaune gulped and held out his hand. His father put the sword on his palm and his fist closed around it, "Be careful with this. It may look like a rusty weapon but it holds great power."  
"Good to know," Jaune said nervously and tried to smile. But inside he felt like his insides were going to explode, "I won't let you down, father."  
"I know you won't." The king took back the sword and put it in the case again before turning to the crowd, "But I did not just invite you all to show off those items. Tonight is a celebration, so I intend to celebrate!" A loud cheer erupted from the crowd and Jaune sweat-dropped; he was going to have to dance. The people down below were already forming their partners. He turned to Weiss.

"By any chance can you dance?"  
"Can I?" Weiss said.

"Uh…can-"  
"OF COURSE I CAN," Weiss snapped, and led her future husband towards the dance floor. As custom, the two had to start off the dance before anyone else could. King John signaled the musicians on the side of the room to start the song. Jaune recognized the tune as the song his mother sung a long time ago. He vaguely remembered it being about the war. The words echoed in his mind only.

_Watch as the sun sets below us_

_Watch as the moon shines bright, but broken_

Jaune put out his hand and bowed, "May I have this dance, milady?"

"Of course, Prince Jaune." They held hands.

_And through the hours of our days, will our hopes still reign?_

Jaune glanced at his feet as he struggled to lead Weiss to the beat of the music. Eventually, the two found balance and managed to move their feet correctly. The ice princess tried not to go too fast.

_Our dreams are yet real; we have yet the price to pay_

Jaune turned Weiss for a spin…success! She gave him a smug grin.

_But just because we're winning, doesn't mean the light will stop to fade_

"I thought you said you can't dance," Weiss said, and Jaune blushed a dark shade of red,

_Our lives are simple, yet cannot be explained_

"Pure luck?" Jaune said, "I'm serious though, dancing has been hard in the past for me."

_This world will need more heroes, unless lives brought down in vain_

Weiss and Jaune spun around with each other, both practically feeling the stares of those around them. The prince spun her again. The two made their way more towards the center of the room.

_So, listen closely, to what I have to give_

"Ack! Sorry," Jaune squeaked after he stepped on Weiss's shoe. The latter frowned, but didn't let it get to her. She just hoped he didn't break the glass.

"Just be more alert next time," She said. That same uneasy feeling crept up on her again. She looked around, but didn't see anything alarming. Weiss shrugged it off as just nervousness and focused her attention on the person in front of her, "So, what did you think of the sword and shield you got?"  
"I don't know, really. It seems nice," Jaune said.

_A single, rare, and one last farewell, of dust we will live_

The song started to end and Weiss saw that some people were taking a break, "I thought it looked very nice too, Jaune, do you want to sit down now?"  
"Sure," He said, "You should make sure I didn't break you shoes or anything. Who wears that kind when dancing anyways?"

"Me."

_SNAP! _Weiss quickly looked up and, without thinking, pushed the prince down to the floor before jumping to the side.

_CRASH! _Jaune's eyes widened as he was shoved to the ground, "Weiss!" He stood up and saw the princess on the floor, shoes broken, next to a fallen chandelier. The once hanging light was now obliterated and Weiss had a fearful expression on her face, "What the-"  
"LOOK OUT!" Someone cried. The sound of a window crashing filled the room and Jaune looked up in fear as a giant fireball flew at him. He jumped to the ground as it flew over his head and into the wall. Screams were heard soon after. Weiss wiped off the shattered pieces of glass, ignoring the bleeding cuts, and helped Jaune up. All around people were trying to get away from whatever was going on.

"Hurry up you dunce, we're being-"She froze.

Everywhere was chaos. Weiss saw multiple people in dark clothing stabbing anyone they could find as they made their way to the prince and princess. Blood pooled the floor and she forced down a sick feeling in her mouth. The fire that had been thrown, most likely from a catapult, had started to spread by latching onto the flammable curtains. She pushed Jaune forwards, "Attacked! We have to go now!" Jaune nodded and ran. Weiss tried to run but instantly fell down as her feet were in too much pain. Suddenly, two thick arms latched onto hers and she looked up.

"Greetings, princess," A malicious voice said. A man with a white mask on had grabbed her arms.

It was a White Serf, a member of a group of rebellious peasants.

"Let me go you insufferable beast!" She struggled to try and wiggle her way out of his grasp.

"Weiss!" Jaune yelled, seeing as the girl was in trouble, he started to run back when he spotted something on the stage.

_The sword_, Jaune thought and made a mad dash for the case. He jumped over some fallen tables and chairs, before reaching the stage. The box was easy to open and he brought out the shiny weapon. He scanned the room for anyone that needed help and ran. Several of the masked figures didn't expect him to have a sword, and he quickly hit any of them that tried to kill the guests. A man came up from behind him and swung his mace-

"Jaune, behind you!" Weiss screamed, and Jaune blocked the attack just in time. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the white-haired girl being dragged away. The prince used all his strength to push his opponent back and promptly kicked him in the gut. The man fell down with a _thud _and Jaune made his way over to his fiancée. Suddenly, a white serf trying to attack a noble banged his sword hilt onto the blond's back neck. Jaune's vision went blurry as he fell down with a grunt.

"Jaune!" Weiss yelled, and kicked at her captor. Another serf had come over and helped hold her down, "You vile, ruthless-"

"Look who's talking," One of them said, and punched her in the head. Like Jaune, the girl was incapacitated as she slowly blacked out. The two men gave one another a successful nod, and carried the princess away past all the commotion.

Jaune blinked a few times before fully regaining his thoughts. His neck felt sore but that didn't stop the prince from standing up and remembering what happened. He looked around.

"Jaune!" His mother yelled, and the prince saw her stumble to the ground as a white serf tried to cut her open. Without hesitation he ran towards the man and blocked his attack just in time.

"Nice to meet the famous Jaune Arc," The person said with a gravelly voice. Jaune only narrowed his eyes and tried not to buckle under the man's pressure. The white masked criminal kicked Jaune in the shins and watched as he fell down, "Nice knowing-"A gurgle emerged from his throat and he fell down on top of the prince. Jaune saw the sword impaled on his back.

"You alright?" His mother pushed the body over to the side and helped her son up. Most of the serfs were still fighting the army of guards that had come in after hearing about the attack.

"Did…I just get ousted by my mother?" He said dazedly.

"Your father's dead," She said quietly.

"What?" Jaune almost fell down from shock.

"Kill the queen!" A voice shouted. Jaune cleared his head and pushed his mom back behind him as several white serfs advanced on them. Ignoring the rending pain of loss he was feeling inside, the blond haired royal held up his shield protectively. A sliver of doubt ran through his mind; he couldn't defeat all of them and he knew it.

"Where is he?" One of them shouted, brandishing a black javelin.

"Who?," Jaune said, his voice shaking.

"You know who I'm talking about, you lying royal."

"What?!" He glanced at his mother who had gone pale.

"Jaune," She whispered softly, and put him in front of her, "Give me the shield." The white serfs started to walk forwards more. Jaune, though confused, gave her the shield and she put something in his free hand. It felt warm and smooth. She closed his palm up quickly, "I know who they're searching for."

"Who?"  
"You have to trust me, okay?"  
"Okay," Jaune gulped, "What do I do?"

"Run to the dungeon," His mother said sadly, and pulled out a bright red dust crystal. Jaune, having been taught on the powers of dust like Weiss, instantly ran to the left.

He knew what was going to happen. A hot sensation crawled up his back and he could just see the flames engulfing the entire area. A few screams arose and he prayed that his mom was okay.

_Run to the dungeon, run to the dungeon, _he thought, then almost tripped as tears blinded his eyes. His father was _dead. _Never coming back. The very idea of that happening made him want to scream. Jaune ran out of the burning ball room and down a hallway.

"Check the dungeons!" He heard someone shout, and turned the corner to see a few masked criminals trying to open the door to the underground prison. He quickly ran up and stabbed each of them in the chest, making sure that they were dead. The door needed a certain amount of aura to open up, not force, and he put his hand to the cold metal.

Aura can be fueled by emotion, something he had learned before in his school classes. And right then, he had a lot of it. The door opened almost automatically and Jaune went in.

"He went this way!" A voice said from around the corner. Jaune raced down the stairs that led to the cells.

"Ren!" He yelled, and grabbed the prison keys hanging from the wall.

"Jaune?!" He heard his friend shout, "Over here, what in the world of Remnant is going on?"  
"Attacked, dad dead, everything is going on!" Jaune exclaimed. Ren's face grew dark.

"Open the cell door now," Ren said sternly.

"Down here, I hear them!" The same voice shouted from above. Jaune opened the door using the key and Ren pulled the prince in before slamming it again.

"Ren, what are you-"His friend grabbed his hand and took object. Jaune saw that it was a shiny, light green crystal of dust, "Ren?"

"Whatever you do, do not allow those guys to get in," He put the crystal down on the floor and took a deep breath. Jaune could only watch in surprise as his hands started to glow a soft pink.

"I thought that you couldn't use your-"

_BANG. BANG. _The door to the room started to shake and Jaune ran over to keep it from flinging open. The light green crystal grew brighter as Ren focused more energy into it. Jaune dug his heels down into the ground to keep himself steady.

"Hit harder!" A serf said from outside. Jaune grit his teeth. More pink light flowed from his friend's hand onto the dust and light poured out of it. The prince was forced to close his eyes to keep from going blind.

_BANG. _Unable to keep the serfs out, Jaune was rocketed forwards as they blasted in. Suddenly, an erupting sound filled his ears and a hand grabbed his wrist.

"They're getting away!" A white serf shouted.

"Don't look down," He heard another voice say over the noise. Jaune felt himself being lifted up and his feet left the ground.

Wait…what? The sound stopped and Jaune tried to find somewhere to put his feet. Instead, his legs flailed in mid-air and he opened his eyes.

_What in the world of Remnant? _He and whoever had a hold of his arm were dangling a hundred feet in the air. He looked up and saw that Ren was holding onto a thick green branch.

Explosion…Ren…Dust…Branch…Jaune took this all in very slowly.

"Jaune, are you-ack!" Ren's hand was burned as a giant fireball catapulted into the a hundred foot tall plant he had summoned. He let go and cursed again before using his aura to create a pink shield underneath him and his friend. Ren landed on his legs and he felt a course of pain run through them, but at least they weren't broken. Jaune, however, had landed on his back.

"My back…" He said weakly. Ren just rolled his eyes and helped the prince up, "How did you do that?"

"Aura, how else?" Ren said, "Oh no." A pink circle emitted in front of two just as a dagger was about to hit them. It fell to the stone ground, "But now's not the time for this. We have to get out of here." Five masked serfs came running at them.

"Uh," Jaune thought for a second, "Horses?" Ren only nodded and started to run away. They had landed in the East section of the castle, next to Queen Alsea's garden, and both knew where to go. The garden was, thank Remnant, next to where most of the stables were located. Ren ran into the stables and grabbed two headpieces before throwing one to Jaune. The prince let out a random horse and put the ropes on. The animal let out a cry and tried to escape.

"Over there!" A distant voice said. Ren let out a horse as well and calmed it down more efficiently. He then put the headpiece on and climbed on top.

"Jaune!" He said in a warning tone. The white serfs were getting closer.

"This isn't as easy as it looks!" He groaned, trying to keep the ropes from flying out of his hands as the hose galloped around. Finally he managed to hoist himself up just as the five masked men came in.

"Hi-yah!" Ren said in a firm voice, and the horse immediately took off towards the white serfs. He used is aura to blast their way into the wall. Jaune followed in quick pursuit, looking up at his home to see what the damage was. Smoke was coming up from one of the windows and he felt like someone had punched him when he remembered what happened to his parents.

"Jaune," Ren said while they flew down the dirt path. They were staying close to the stone castle walls that surrounded the place, "What exactly-"  
"My father's dead," Jaune said, his voice breaking. Ren didn't reply, "And I don't know what the hell is happening and my mother just burned up, and, and-"he gasped, "and Weiss got taken-"

Ren stopped instantly, "Weiss got taken?!"  
"They took her and now she's gone and you just grew a giant plant and we fell and now I don't have anything clue what in the world of Remnant to do!" Jaune was starting to break inside, "And they wanted some person and now my homes destroyed and-"

"JAUNE!" Ren shouted, and his friend shut up, "Please, calm down. The White Serfs are still here and we have to get out of the castle's range if we want to live."  
"How in the world did you do that?!" Jaune exclaimed, pointing at the tall plant that had risen out of the building. Behind him sounds of attack and explosions were going on. The horses rounded the corner and Ren knew that in only a matter of time they would reach the wall's exit arch.

"Now's not the time!" Ren said, and spotted the open doors in the walls that would allow them to escape, "We just have to make sure we aren't seen when we go-"A sharp pain went through his shoulder and he let go of the reigns. Jaune watched as Ren fell off the horse and immediately jumped off of his. He went down to his unmoving friend and saw a gleaming arrow sticking out of body; blood pooling out slowly.

"Well, if it isn't the famous Prince Jaune of Vale. A steely voice said behind him, and Jaune grabbed

his sword. He saw shadows circling around him and knew that he was surrounded. A figure

with a red tinted sword came out, lips twitched up in a knowing smile.

"Who are you?" Jaune shakily asked.

"I suppose since we have to kill you it doesn't really matter," The man walked forwards, sword raised, "I'm Adam Taurus, leader of this little escapade."

* * *

Weiss felt like her head was on fire. The last thing she remembered hearing was one of those scoundrel white serfs mocking her. Her whole body ached and a bit of blood oozed down her head.

_Where am I? _She thought, and tried to stand up. But the pain was too much and she fell back down again.

"I'm sorry," Someone said in a soft voice, and the princess's eyes widened. She tried lifting her head to see who was there but she was too weak.

"Who's…"  
"Don't speak," The voice commanded, "You were badly injured during the attack and I barely managed to rescue you from the White Serfs." A wet cloth pressed on Weiss's head and she felt herself relax, "I know that I would be killed trying to help you but what my people are doing is wrong."

_Your people? _Weiss thought angrily and her body tensed, "People?"  
"Shh," The voice said again, and Weiss figured it was a girl, "My _old_ people. I left them, determined to fight for what I believed in _my _way."  
"Lovely story," Weiss grumbled.

"Hmm, even in a near death-state, the princess of Atlas still retains her mood," The girl mused to herself. Weiss tried to sit up again but was pushed down, "What do you not get about 'badly injured'?"

"Where am I?" She said quietly.

"Far, far away from the Arc Castle," The girl informed, "Hopefully the White Serf won't find us."

"Who are you?" She asked.

"That is none of your business," The reply came back cold and quick. The girl removed the cloth and Weiss could hear water dripping. Suddenly, it was replaced by the sound of horses running.

"Who's-"

"Damn Adam for this cut," The girl muttered and Weiss heard her say a few more foul words, "How did Roman find me, out here nevertheless?" Weiss felt herself trying to be picked up only to be put back down, "I'm…I'm sorry. I got injured protecting you and can't carry you with me."  
"What?"

"I can't risk being found by them again," The girl grabbed one of Weiss's arms and pulled her to a tree trunk. She was still out of the injured girl's sight, "Whatever you do, don't tell them who you are. The man's name is Roman and he's different than the White Serfs." The horses drew closer.

"Please, who are you?" Weiss managed to say.

Two seconds passed.

"I'm nobody now." And that last thing Weiss saw before a horse blocked her sight was the flash of black that disappeared into the forest.

* * *

A/N: Just a quick note guys. As you all know, Vale and Vacuo and all these countries are in different places all over the world, but I'm changing where they for story reasons. They won't be that different than in the show, but they'll be slightly changed. That is all! Hope you all enjoyed, and please leave a fave and review!

Edit: My sister was on my account and wanted to review my story but she forgot to log out, which is why there's a review with my name on it. I did NOT review my own story, so please don't give me any hate about it.


	3. Chapter 3: Peasant Ruby Rose of Signal

A/N: Please Read and Review!

* * *

_**But perhaps victory is in the simpler things you've long forgotten**_

**Chapter 3: Peasant Ruby Rose of Signal**

**Signal, Vacuo, A Week and A Half Later  
**

_CLANG, CLANG. _Sparks of hot ember flew up into the air as the girl banged down the hammer. She watched as the burning metal easily molded to the desirable shape. Ruby wasn't too proud of herself though, working at a blacksmith shop meant she was used to the strenuous labor. However, she _was_ proud that she hadn't fainted from heat like three others in her village had. Living on the edge of Vacuo in the desert meant that even the winter brought blistering warmth. With a final _clang _she put down the hammer and quickly plunged the piece of iron into the bucket of water. Steam rose up into the air and after a second or two she brought the newly made material out. Ruby was often told how good she was at the art of smelting, but her real main specialty was weapon making, a talent only she and her uncle were good at in her town. Her older sister, Yang, was supposed to be at the shop two hours ago for her shift, but she had probably gotten herself in another brawl down at the pub or some idiot had messed with her hair and was paying the price.

"Where are you, sis?" Ruby wondered aloud.

No sooner had she said that then she heard the sound of a door open. Hoping to have a new customer, she straightened up her red outfit, put the piece of iron on a table, and turned around. However, she was only met with a girl with golden hair and purple eyes.

"YANG," Ruby said in a whiny voice. Her sister grinned at her, "Why weren't you here earlier?" Yang was always late.  
"Sorry Rubes," Yang said, and started messing with her hair. Ruby noticed that part of it seemed cut, "I kind of got preoccupied."

"Someone tried to cut your hair for fun?" Ruby guessed.

"Lousy bastard," Yang muttered to herself. The village boys made bets to see who could get a lock of her hair without getting pummeled to death.

"Well, your late," Ruby said through gritted teeth, though in truth, she really wasn't that mad. She liked working at her uncle's shop. It was just her and dozens of weapon. However, her real problem was that she was planning on meeting her uncle for their special training session.

"I want to be someone who can protect people who can't protect themselves," She had told him a few months ago. After much pleading he agreed to train the fifteen year old in the art of fighting and the two met at the abandoned, dried up lake at the edge of town. She still hadn't told her sister about in, in fear that she may be too overprotective and cancel the meetings. And lately, though, Yang had been curious to know what her younger sis was doing all the time, so when Ruby let it slip she was meeting someone, that was when the blond started to get suspicious. Ruby never liked talking to people,

"I was just doing some things and I lost track of time, I'm sorry, Rubes," Yang said, and Ruby decided to let it go.

"Okay, but I get two extra hours," She pulled off her smelting apron and threw it at Yang.

"Ugh," Her sister groaned before poking her little sis in the chest, "Fine. But while I'm busy you better go outside and make some friends."

"No way," Ruby said, and went into the back of the shop to get something, "I don't have time for friends." Yang narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Ruby, didn't you say you were meeting someone?" Yang said, and noticed her sister gulp, "And for the past few weeks you've been awfully reclusive" she started walking towards Ruby slowly, "Mind telling me what you've been doing?" The red-head's face paled and she started to turn away.

"Nope."  
Seeing as she wasn't going to budge, Yang tried a different method, "You can trust me, you know." She said softly. Ruby looked at Yang. She trusted her sister in everything else, so why not this?

"Alright," Ruby said. Besides, Yang would find out eventually, "Uncle Qrow's been helping me learn to practice with this!" And with those words she brought out a giant scythe. Yang's eyes widened and she jumped back as the weapon hit the ground. The blond immediately grabbed the device and pulled it back, almost sending Ruby tumbling down.

"Rubes, where in the world did you get this?" Yang held up the weapon in the air so her sister's efforts to reach it were futile, "You know that if you use this when the soldiers are here you'll get in big trouble." She was right about that, Ruby admitted. Roman Torchwick's soldiers often came to the village to collect some outrageous tax or just bully the townspeople. They would often arrest people for no good reason and she hated them.

"You said I could trust you!" Ruby shouted.

"Remnant, why would Qrow do this?!" Yang said to herself.

"Because he knows that I deserve to know how to fight!" Ruby lashed at her.

"Do you remember what happened to mom and dad, Ruby, do you!?" Yang said. Her voice came out louder than she expected and her little sister shrank back.

"I just wanted to learn how to fight," Ruby said softly. She had worked on the scythe for ages, designing it based on the ones her people used to harvest the fields. It was a long wooden pole, painted red to match her color, with a smooth texture. At the end a long curved piece of metal was connected, its length reaching out both ways. The blade was sharp, jagged, and, as Yang could guess, dangerous. The older sibling looked into Ruby's eyes and saw that she really did want to fight. But, she couldn't allow what happened to their parents happen to her.

"Listen, Ruby," Yang said quietly, "I know you want to fight but we can't risk getting in trouble."

"Says the girl who beat up her classmate because he cut off some hair!" Ruby countered.

"Fine, point taken. But this is different than beating people up. Especially if they're not a soldier. I promised mom and dad I would protect you," Yang said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ruby said, sulking. They had this conversation regularly.

"How long has Uncle Qrow been teaching you?"  
"About five months. And I've gotten really good! I can do my semblance, which is speed, and slash things and-  
"Ruby, I don't care if you've gotten good, alright? All I care about it making sure you don't get yourself killed!" Ruby could see Yang's eyes flicker a deadly red.  
"Why do you think I'm learning how to use this thing? I want to help people, Yang. And this is my only chance to do just that!"

"We can't do anything, Ruby. You know that!"

"Why are you so bossy?"  
"Because I'm your older sister and I absolutely refuse for you to do this anymore!" Yang's words caused Ruby to back away and the blond saw tears forming up in her sister's eyes, "Oh, Remnant, Rubes-"

Too late. Ruby had already run away, leaving a trail of blood red rose petals. Yang threw the scythe down in anger.

_What am I going to do with her? _

* * *

Ruby was flying. Or so it felt like it. Her vision was starting to blur and she couldn't see where she was going. All she knew was that she was angry.  
Angry and hurt. Why couldn't Yang just lighten up for one remnant of a second? Why couldn't she see that Ruby just wanted to help others? A burst of energy coursed through her veins and with a final spin, the tree toppled over. Since there was no other way for her to get her frustration out, the poor tree was chosen as a semblance dummy. Qrow had taught her to hone her abilities during the second month of her training, and she had learned to control her speed enough not to hurt anyone or anything if she got frustrated.

Everything, of course, except for the tree. Ruby let out an incoherent cry and started to kick up some sand. A part of her felt guilty for acting so childish, but right then she didn't know what else to do. She didn't even bother to bring her scythe with her.

"Ruby?" A voice rang out. The girl looked behind her and saw a man with dark red hair and gray eyes staring at her. In his hand held her weapon.

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby said puzzled. He was supposed to be at the marketplace getting supplies, "Uh, I can explain-"  
"Did Yang find out?" He asked softly. Ruby closed her eyes and nodded. Qrow frowned and thought about his hot tempered niece. He knew that she meant for the best but sometimes she could go overboard, "I saw her leave the shop. She didn't look happy."

_She can't help it, _His mind stated, _not after what happened. _Qrow walked over to Ruby and handed her the scythe, "Are you alright?" She didn't reply, only stared into space.

Finally, she said, "No. I just wish she could see I want to protect people. That I don't want what happened to mom and dad happen to others." Her uncle looked at her with a grim face; sometimes Yang underestimated Ruby's knowledge.

"I'm sure she'll come around," He said, "Maybe she just needs to cool off a bit."  
"But what if she doesn't. I know that she cares but can't she see I need to do this?"  
"People often let their emotions get in the way of their choices when trying to protect the people they love," Qrow said wisely, "It's just human nature."  
"Yeah, well," Ruby sat down on her knees, "I wish it wasn't."

"I wouldn't say that," Her uncle sat down next to her, "If that was the case then you wouldn't have the sister you know now. The sister that's taken care of you all these years when I couldn't." Ruby sighed and placed the scythe on the ground. She knew he was right, just didn't want to admit it; Yang had been her guardian and protector all those years, as her uncle had multiple jobs to do in order to raise two growing girls. She fed her, played with her, and somehow managed to control the usually hyperactive redhead.

"Do you think I should continue doing this?" She asked.

"That's up to you. Personally I believe becoming a Huntress is a vital thing."  
"A what?" Ruby said. Out of all their weeks of training Qrow never used the term Huntress. He looked at her in shock.

"You mean I've never told you the story? That's why I thought you wanted to be one in the first place."

"The story? Nope. Don't remember you telling me that story. In fact, the only story I remember you telling me is the one about the Nevermore and the Ursa loving each other _very _much-"

"That…wasn't a story Ruby," Qrow said, remembering when he had to give Ruby "The Talk".

"Really? 'Cause Yang said it was, right after you finished and left."

Qrow sighed. He was going to have a talk to his oldest niece, "Anyways, Ruby. Since I never told you the story I suppose now's a good time." Ruby's eyes lit up and she crisscrossed her legs like a schoolchild, "You ready?" She nodded earnestly, "Okay, I'm sure you've heard of the story of Dust, right?"

"That one Yang told me when I was little. I still remember it though."  
"Good, now, a long time ago, when humans were new and starting to set up civilization, the creatures of darkness were preparing to attack. Of course, though, mankind was smart, and knew that the world they lived in wasn't going to be perfect. So, in order to stand a chance they trained young people just like you, to fight."

"Like me?"  
"Yep, at about your age I suspect is when they enrolled. These special chosen were trained in school knows as Academies, and as time went on, they became known as Hunters and Huntresses. So, when the Grimm attacked they were ready, ready to fight back and get rid of the darkness."  
"But didn't they almost lose?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, unfortunately they did. Even the most skilled soon died in the wars that followed the Grimm's attacks. And soon, even though some put up a valiant effort, the Grimm started to win."  
"Then dust came," Ruby chimed in, "And that's what they used to defeat the monsters, am I right?"  
"Your right. After the Grimm were defeated, the schools were set up again in hopes of training more to fight in case of the future." He stopped suddenly, and a look of sadness went across his face.

"Uncle Qrow, why aren't there anymore?"  
"Because when there's power, Ruby, there's also evil. I always want you to remember that. People became greedy, became ruthless. In fact, some people are still like that today," He sighed, "And so the academies and the students and Hunters and Huntresses. They all became extinct."  
"Why don't we bring them back?"  
"That would be a good idea, but remember, we are in a time of peace," Qrow said, not willing to share the truth to the young, innocent girl, "And so we don't need them anymore. Besides, rules and laws would have to be passed and certain people persuaded."  
"So…why are you teaching me?" Ruby inquired.

"Because I want to make, just in case, that the peace ends, you can protect yourself and your sister." Now, _that _was the truth. Qrow stood up, dusted his pants, and then helped Ruby up. The two started to walk back to the village of Signal in silence until Qrow cleared his throat loudly, "By the way, good job using your semblance back there."

"You saw that?"

"Impressive, I must say."  
"Yeah, well, if a pair of Bearwolfs attacks us, have Yang get me mad if we want to make it out alive." Her shoulders slumped slightly, but then went back up as a question formed in her head, "Hey Uncle?"  
"Yes, Ruby?"  
"When Yang told me about dust, she said that they all have these different functions. But no one really knows what they are. She sort of acted all smart and figured that some of the powers were based on the colors. Like red to fire and light blue to ice."  
"Yes, I believe that's true, but what is your question?"  
"Can't we find dust where these things are? Like fire in volcanos or ice in a cold region like Atlas?"  
"I'm afraid is doesn't work that way, Ruby," Qrow said, "Dust is a very strange and mysterious material, and if used improperly can turn things nasty quick. When people first found it they were just lucky it didn't blow their heads off."  
"Where did they find it?"

"No one knows. But, I wouldn't ponder that thought for too long. There are much greater things to worry about than something that's almost gone from the world."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ruby said, "But I-"

_CRACK! _The sound of a whip echoed through the air and the two looked towards the town to see what was going on. They weren't that far and Ruby could make out a few people scrambling to get away from something.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked a hint of fear in her voice. Qrow didn't reply, only ran towards the commotion, the redhead following in pursuit. A multitude of people were crowding around something in the middle of Signal. Ruby tried to push her way through, but her small demeanor didn't allow her too. However that didn't allow her ears to figure out what was going on.

"Well, greetings people of Signal, glad you could watch the show," A loud, joking voice said, and Ruby instantly recognized it as General Torchwick. But taxes weren't due for another week, so why was he here? Another crack went through the air and Ruby tried to jump to see what was going on.

"You see," Roman said, "This is why you all are poor, starving, in poverty. Because people like this one right here just seem to want to get in my way." His words made Ruby's blood boil with anger. Without thinking she shoved the people in front of her away and ran to the front of the crowd. Her whole mind seemed to shut down as she saw the sight. The scythe fell down to the ground with a dull _thud._

Yang was lying down on the dirt ground with two bloody streaks of red going across her right arm. Her face was deathly pale and her eyes widened when she saw who had run up.

"Yang," Ruby whispered in disbelief and Roman looked at her with interest. Signaling the guards behind him to hold their positions, he slowly walked towards the redhead, ignoring the weapon next to her feet.

"Ah, so you must know her then," He said, bloody whip in hand, "Well rest assure that she's in good hands."

That was it. With a roaring cry Ruby kicked the scythe up into her hands and took a swing at Roman, who barely managed to survive getting his head chopped off by jumping back. The blade stopped at his throat and he stood still. Nobody dared to move, nobody dared to breathe. The world seemed to have stopped.

"Ruby?" Yang said, dazed. The redhead didn't say anything, only glared at Roman with a murderous look.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."  
"Ruby!" Her uncle cried, but she ignored him. A vile taste filled her mouth and she stared at Torchwick for an answer.

"Because, red," The man said and looked her dead in the eyes, "I know you can't." Ruby saw his arm grab his sword and before she could hit him his blade knocked the scythe right out of her hands. With a grin, the general slashed the sword at the young girl and Ruby was forced to move. Her weapon was on the ground and she doubted she could pull off some fancy footwork like she did last time. The townsfolk had started to back up now, except for her uncle who had a look of fear on his face. Ruby dodged another attack and realized that if she didn't do something soon than she was dead meat. The soldiers were starting to advance on her as well. She needed time.

Oh, wait-

With a blur of red Ruby used her semblance to speed past the guards and general as she grabbed her scythe. Roman barely had time to ponder what had happened when the girl raced towards him.

"Guards, kill this girl and her people." He ordered.  
_NO! _Ruby's mind yelled as she swung the scythe at her enemy's head. Roman ducked and his weapon clashed with hers. Out of the corner of her eyes Ruby could see the soldiers trying to attack the townspeople and she kicked Roman in the gut. With an _oof _he fell back in surprise and Ruby used her speed to rocket herself at the guards. Her scythe raised she brought it down on one of the enemies and cleanly cut through his chest. Trying to hold down the sick feeling in her stomach she pulled the scythe out and prepared to attack the others. Each one held a long sword, along with a few crystals of-wait, was that dust? How in the world of Remnant did they get something as rare as dust? Ruby shook her head, no time for thoughts like that. All that mattered was saving everyone. She swung her scythe again at a nearby guard and he quickly hit it with his long-sword. The two didn't try and attack until another guard came up and tried to stab the girl in the side. Ruby turned and swiftly moved her scythe out of the way as he advanced before making it turn a full 360 degree angle and cutting both men open. Blood poured out of their chests and Ruby closed her eyes to try and block the mess.

Suddenly, she was blasted back and Ruby could see flames dancing around her. She noticed one of the men holding a bright red crystal.

_Note to self: Bright red=Fire and small explosion. _Ruby saw the Yang was now standing up, her eyes as red as the burning ground. She wasn't pale anymore, she didn't even notice the bloody wounds.

"No one messes with my sister," She growled, and with a loud cry she ran towards a soldier. He swung his sword at the fiery teen before getting punched squarely in the jaw. A yellow light emitted from her fingers and the man was sent tumbling downwards. Yang brought up her foot and kicked him in the head. Roman watched the two girls in interest and silently made his way towards one of the horses. It was obvious that he was losing. Ruby looked at her sister in awe as she picked up the fallen man's weapon and began to fight two soldiers at once. Her hands seemed to be covered in fire and she masterfully swung her sword. Following her sister's lead the redhead jumped and used her scythe to propel herself forwards by pushing off the ground with it. She landed on a dead soldier and quickly hit another in the crotch using the blunt end of her weapon.

"Sis!' Yang said, "He's getting away!" Ruby saw Roman get on a horse and tip his cap to her.

"Nice duel, red, I admit you have moves," He said before turning around, "Again sometime?" Ruby ran towards Roman before a cloud of dust blinded her vision as his horse's hooves kicked up sand into her eyes. She fell onto the ground and scraped her knees.

"Ruby!" She heard her uncle yell, and someone pulled her up. Ruby rubbed her eyes and looked at Qrow, "Are you alright?" Ruby scowled; Roman had gotten away.  
"HU-YA!" The two turned to see a raging Yang kick an unfortunate soldier into a house, "DON'T TOUCH MY HAIR!"

"Woah," Ruby said, "I'm surprised she hasn't passed out yet."

"That's what makes Yang special, I suppose," Qrow said back, "Her ability to take in damage and power herself up with it. But, I'm pretty sure that even a strong one like her, once lost so much blood, will pass out eventually."

Right on cue, the fellow blond fell in a heap to the ground, arms still wet with red liquid. Ruby ran over to her sister, "Yang?" She didn't stir. Qrow held Yang in his arms bridal style and carried her towards their house. Ruby wanted to go after her, but her eyes trailed to all the bodies in the middle of the town.

_I killed them, _she realized, and slowly started to descend downwards, _I killed someone._ The idea made her want to puke. _Isn't this what you asked for, though? To become a Huntress, to kill others to protect the ones you love?_

"But I didn't ask to kill them," Ruby said to herself, and remembered her sudden anger that had caused the demise of the men, "but then Yang would be dead." She sighed. What was done was done, and even she had to accept that.

It didn't make the feeling any less painful though. Ruby reluctantly got up and started to walk away to check on her sister when a feeble cough caught her attention. Thinking that one of the guards was still alive she quickly turned around and ran towards the noise. Some of the dust in the air was still clearing from the fight and she heard the cough again. Most of the villagers had gone inside or were cleaning up the mess. Ruby stood there scanning the area for the person.

There! Against a dead body was a strange looking girl, probably older than she was, trying to grab something out of the dead man's hand. Ruby didn't recognize her from the village. Maybe she was with the guards. Holding out her weapon she approached the figure from behind.

"I know your there," The girl said, not even bothering to look up, "I'm not with them, I was captured by them, so I ask you nicely not to stab me." Shocked, Ruby just stared. The girl was wearing a ripped white fabric that went down to her legs, maybe a dress? It was then Ruby saw what she was trying to get; the crystals of dust strapped to the soldier's belt.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked, "And why were you with them?"  
"I should be reprimanding a peasant such as yourself for waving that thing around my head," The girl said haughtily, "But since you saved my life from that Roman guy I suppose I'll let it pass."  
"What? Who do you think you are, princess?" Ruby said, trying to comprehend her rude nature. The girl flashed a look of sadness before talking again.

"Actually...I am," She said and Ruby saw that she seemed unconvinced.

"You seem a little unsure of that," Ruby said.

"Well, I don't know if I am anymore," Her tone was bitter.

"Well, what's your name?"

"Weiss. Weiss Schnee."

* * *

A/N: Please leave a review and hope you all enjoyed.


	4. Chapter 4: Second Thoughts

A/N: Annnddddd, I'm back! Seriously though, sorry for the extremely long wait. I blame life. And broken bones, and life again. Hopefully this chapter makes up for though. I plan to update every two weeks if I can, and I'll try to not make you guys wait for almost a month. Also, this may seem irrelevant now, but recently I've been on a medieval reading frenzy, and learned a lot about the medieval myths, legends, and culture, so now I've decided to make this story more AUish and turn Faunus into Cambions, which, in medieval mythology, are half-human, half-demons that live on Earth. Seemed like the medieval equal to the Faunus, so I turned them into the Cambions and they're basically all fighting for civil rights and all that shiz just like in the real RWBYverse.

With all that out of my system…ONTO THE CHAPTER!

(**Please Read and Review)**

*Also, a coif is a linen hat designed to go over a woman's head.

DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN RWBY, NOR WILL I EVER! ALL RIGHT GO TO ROOSTERTEETH, MORE SPECIFICALLY MONTY OUM.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Second Thoughts**

_**Your hopes have become my burden; I will find my own liberation**_

**20 Minutes Before the Attack**

Two White Serfs, one with an orange mask, one with a red, stood carefully next to the catapult. They had been waiting for over an hour for Adam's signal to launch, and there wasn't much to entertain them with.

"Hey," The one with the red mask abruptly said.

"Yeah?"

"You ever wonder why we're here."

"It's one of life's great mysteries isn't it? Why are we here?" The orange masked one sighed, "I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really a God watching everything? You know, with a plan for us and stuff. I don't know, man, but it keeps me up at night."

"...What?!" He turned to the other in confusion, "I mean why are we out here, next this giant catapult, right about to attack the Arc Castle?"

"Oh. Uh...yeah," The orange masked member said sheepishly, followed by a moment of silence.

"What was all that stuff about God?"

"Uh...hm? Nothing."  
"You want to talk about it?"

"No," He said flatly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Seriously though, why are we out here? As far as I can tell, we should be attacking _right now _just like Adam said at the meeting last night!"

"Mm hmm," The orange masked man said, letting his friend rant on.

"The only reason that we're here is because the stupid Blake girl keeps backing out of things. The only reason were here, is because she keeps running off and Adam has to go track her down every single time!"

"Yeah, but you can't really blame her for being nervous. I mean, Ozpin is in there, isn't he? You know, the renowned sage and wizard."  
"No, no. I know, everyone knows who he is. But in all logic, why do we still have her in the White Serfs? She doesn't even like attacking the royals anymore!"

"Yeah, what's up with that anyways? She can't take a little violence every now and then?" The two reminisced about how Blake wouldn't participate in the last attack on a noble's house when they were in Mistral.

Meanwhile, two Arc soldiers with blue armor in a trench watched the two masked creatures with boredom. One of them was holding a state-of-the-art glaive with a dark handle. The other was trying not to fall asleep and poking his partner in the shoulder every few seconds.

"What are they doing?" The one poking said in a bland tone.

"What?" The other one turned and said, obviously aggravated.

"I said, 'what are they doing' now."  
"Goddammit, I'm so frustrated at answering that question!" The one with the glaive said loudly, but quickly lowered his voice so their position wouldn't be seen.

"You have the bloody glaive, I can't see god knows what. Don't start to mess with me because I'm not just going to crouch here and-"

"Okay, okay, look... they're just standing there and talking, okay?" The other said, trying not to hit his partner with his sword out of sheer rage, "That's all they're doing. That's all they _ever_ do, is just stand there and talk. That's what they were doing last week, that's what they were doing when you asked me five minutes ago. So, five minutes from _now_, when you ask me, "What are they doing?" my answer's going to be, "They're still just talking, and they're still just standing there." He looked at his comrade with a 'do you get what I'm bloody saying, you dolt?' look.

Silence. Pure, amazing silence passed for a minute. The one with the weapon sighed with relief and continued to study the White Serfs.

"...What are they talking about?"

"I bloody hate you."

* * *

Blake leaned her head against the red tree, Gambol Shroud at her side and a book in her hand, one about the flora and fauna of Remnant. She had read about the famous red trees that occupied Vale, with legend saying the blood of the fallen warriors in the Great War was what made their unique color. Of course, they were legends, fairytales to be more correct, and the young Cambion had seen what had happened when you put too much hope in the happy stories.  
Still, she enjoyed reading them. The cool night breeze went across her face and she smiled. This was the one day when they didn't attack, they didn't fight, and they didn't kill innocent lives. When no one bothered her about being literate or reading more than readying her weapons. Yes, it was rare times like those when her life actually seemed...peaceful.

Then her grin faded when she remembered what her leader was planning for later. The largest, deadliest, and most risky attack the White Serfs had ever done. Of course, it was only her section of the White Serfs that were launching the attack. The main WS Headquarters was far away, in a land Blake only heard bits and pieces about. The leader of her section, which was mainly made up of Cambions, not peasants, was a high-ranking general, and anticipating what was about to come.

The Arc Castle Siege.

Blake, unlike the others in her clan, knew everything there was to know about the Arcs. King John and Queen Alsea ruled their people with valor, courage, and charm, with the couple both having kind hearts and a loving nature.

She could only guess that their son, Prince Jaune, was as popular. He was engaged to Princess Weiss of Atlas, whom the White Serfs and regular peasants in general hated. She was known for being snobbish, prejudiced, and discriminatory against Cambions and the poor. But for reasons that Blake herself couldn't figure out, she didn't hold any anger against the northern girl. Maybe it was because the black haired Cambion knew how it felt to be pressured to be something that didn't really please them, or because Blake understood that her parents were less than loving and treated their daughter with an icy tone. It didn't matter though, at that time, as it would only be a matter of moments before her leader would come stalking into the forest and demand Blake to come back to the White Serfs stakeout and prepare to fight.

Which of course, she would. The seventeen year old girl looked up at the sharp demon horns that protruded out of his head. Would this really work? Fighting and killing and attacking over and over again? The world would still see them as monsters, not just the Cambions, but the normal peasants as well. She knew for a fact that not all royals were bad, but taking over the Arc Castle, taking over the rare royalty that wasn't evil, was pushing it too far.

Evil. If Blake had a coin for every time someone had called her that she would be richer than the King and Queen themselves. The White Serfs had their good share of evil, something that she didn't even bother to deny. She was a Cambion, or half-human. A demon. A black horned spawn of the devil. She had no idea who her parents were, only that as soon as one of them saw their freak of a daughter, they tossed her aside, not caring about the fact that she was going to die. Once you were born a demon, once you were born at all, the lady of fate already had a plan for you. And being a Cambion meant living your life in complete misery and hate.

Maybe that's why she joined the White Serfs in the first place. To let out of the rage and hurt she had felt her whole childhood. Growing up without anyone to truly care, let alone love, made her a hollow piece of space.

But that didn't mean that she was alone all her life.

A small, blood red leaf fell onto Blake's torn book. She stared at it for a few seconds before a rustling sound came from the trees in front of her.

"Adam, if you expect to properly attack a heavily guarded palace, then I suggest taking some lessons in the art of stealth," Blake said in a calm voice, "Plus, you keep forgetting that I have eyesight as well as yours in almost complete darkness."  
"Damn you and your logic," A raspy voice said from the shadows, and out came a tall man. His White Serf mask was white, and shining in the moonlight, with a curvy pattern of red in the middle and sides. His black vest and shirt hung loosely from his body and Blake could see his long, sheathed sword in his hand.

On his head, two red demon horns sticking out.

"It's not my fault I'm smarter than you," Blake countered, and closed her book, "Why are you here?"

"Blake, it's time," Adam said, walking forwards, "You know what we have to do."  
"I'm not coming," She said bluntly.

"And why's that?"  
"You know why," She seethed, "Because none of this makes sense. This fighting and bloodshed and everything we do."

"It's the only way we'll ever get our freedom, Blake," Adam said, "Every royal we kill every time we raid or fight back or get what we want, we're showing them who we are and that we're tired of being treated like dirt."

"But what about the people like the Arcs!" Blake said, "They're the kind of people that treat everyone with respect and dignity."  
"All royalty have slaves," Adam countered, "All royalty are useless pieces of scum that are better off dead." Blake didn't even flinch at his harsh tone; she was used to this side of her leader.

"I'm tired of it. Tired of killing innocent people when we should be proving to the world we aren't monsters."  
"They're always going to see us that way if we don't do something. We gave them the chance to treat us right, without using violence," Adam said.

"Still…"  
"And we don't' even have any use for the Arcs, remember? We only need the boy."

"I don't trust Roman, Adam," Blake said, and looked him dead in the eyes, "Why would he want a servant boy? It doesn't add up. Why would he want anyone from here, to be honest?"  
"I don't know," Adam said, "But he's willing to help us and I think that getting one measly person isn't going to be that hard."  
"You forgot who we're up against."  
"You forgot how strong we are."  
"And that's what I'm worried about! I don't want innocent lives just tossed aside because they get in the way! I don't want to continue doing this!" Blake yelled and jumped up, "I know I grew up in this group, I know that they're, that _you're _my brother, but I don't know how long I can take this anymore! Others may have no trouble killing but I do!" Adam saw the pain in his sister's eyes and turned away. He didn't know what to do, let alone say. The two stood still, with the only sound being Blake's heavy panting.

"If it helps convince you…I bought you this," Adam held out a black coif, perfect for hiding demon traits. Blake stared at the small hat in confusion.

"Why-?"  
"I know that you're self-conscious about your horns, so I thought that this would help in the future." He put the coif in her unmoving hand and waited for her response.

"I have no future," She finally said sadly, "Even if I have this I'll always still be a demon."  
"After this castle siege is done, I promise that the world will not see you like that anymore. Not while I'm in charge." A small part of Blake knew that he was lying, but at that moment, she didn't care.

"Promise…" Blake took a deep breath, "Promise you'll spare any royals you find. That you won't kill unless necessary."  
"I…fine."

"Thank you," Blake said in an honest tone, and tied the coif around her head. The fabric was a smooth, yet tough material, and fit perfectly. She let herself give off a faint smile and looked up toward the starry sky.

"Blake?"

"I'm ready."

* * *

The moon was high and broken in the night sky, but that didn't bother the two Cambions running towards the White Serf base. The time was close to ten, Blake could guess, and the Arc Castle was visible by the many flames of light coming from the outer walls. Red leaves seemed to scatter everywhere as they ran past them. The wind raced through their hair and Blake had to redo her coif again to keep it from falling off, which was hard considering she was going more than fifty miles per hour. Speed and heightened sense were just perks of being a demon. After a few minutes the two finally reached the hidden White Serf area and were sweetly greeted by a few members.

"Where were you!?" One with a long scaly demon tail scowled. She cast a glare at Blake and was met with one of equal intensity, "Oh, I see."  
"Lydia, not now," Adam said in a tired voice, and ordered her to get all the members gathered. The small, makeshift base the WS had set up wasn't anything fancy, with a couple tents here and there and tables and chairs scattered around so the wounded could rest. They were behind several large hills so hopefully none of the Arc soldiers had spotted them yet. Adam and Blake walked towards the side of the small mountain and stood silently. They had been camped near the castle for almost a week, preparing for their biggest mission ever. The raven-haired Cambion looked around at the crowed starting to form, as word of the meeting got around quickly.

Adam cleared his throat and raised his sword up into the night air.

"As you all know," He said, trying not to speak too loudly, "We have gathered here to launch a full scale attack on the Arc Castle." Several murmurs of excitement were heard in the audience and Blake narrowed her eyes, "You all know the plan. A few of us, including Lydia and Blake, will infiltrate the castle by getting past the guards into the walls. Afterwards they'll send a signal, letting me and a few others know when the coast is clear and when we should attack. When I give the signal, you are expected to launch the catapults and attack the castle. Any questions?"

"What about the ballroom guards and Ozpin?"

"Team three has that covered," Adam said simply, "Now remember, team four has the servant boy, the rest of you just need to make sure to distract people enough so they can get him in time. You all know what he looks like and it shouldn't be that hard to find him. If we manage to get all the royals _captured_, not killed," He looked at Blake, "Then we put them in the dungeon. I repeat do not kill anyone unless necessary

"This is because of _her, _isn't it?" A Cambion with pointy horns exclaimed, pointing his finger at Blake.

"You have a problem with that?" Blake scowled.

"It doesn't matter why we're not killing anyone," Adam intervened, not wanting an argument to form, "What matters is we just finish this job so that Roman can help pave the way to The White Serfs' victory. I don't want to hear any complaining, only the sound of fire hitting the Arc castle when the time is right. Am I clear?!"

Nobody spoke after that, signaling that they all got it. Adam unsheathed his red sword and turned around, "We are the White Serfs. A voice in the darkness that has plagued this land. Some of us may be demons, but inside who is truly the monsters that roam Remnant?" Despite the fact he wanted the meeting to be low-key, the Cambions and Peasants were starting to get riled. They waved their weapons and swung them wildly. Seeing that they were ready, Adam turned to Blake and handed her a dark blue jar. It fit on her palm without showing off any skin. She didn't question the odd gesture, as she already knew what he wanted her to do with it.

"I need to know that you can do this," Adam said softly, so no one could hear. Blake pretended to ignore him, and tied the jar to her side using one of her many black ribbons, "Once you and Lydia send the signal, I want you guys to stay put."  
"What? But why?"  
"Because I don't know if I this is going to end up going great, or going bloody," Adam interlocked his hand with Blake's, "And I want to spare you the pain if the second part happens."  
Amber eyes flickered for only a moment as Blake took in his words. Maybe he did care. Their rare moment was interrupted, however, as Lydia stood by Adam's side and whispered something in his ear.

"Yes, I know," Adam responded softly, and turned to the White Serfs, arm raised again to show off his weapon.

"What was that about?" Blake asked.

"Nothing," Adam said a bit too quickly, but regained his composure and grinned, "Now, let's go crash us a ball."

* * *

The plan was so simple it was child's play. Sneak in the castle, signal the WS, and wait until the siege was done. Blake had heard it enough to get it engraved in her mind. From the moment Adam told her it had wrapped around her head like a snake and stayed there, just taunting her coward nature for not wanting to kill. She hated being so torn between her morals and her brothers, the people that took her in and loved her like one of their own.

But this? Despite the fact that she knew Adam meant well, that his words truly touched her heart, nobody could deny that it was insane, and deep down Blake knew that something bad was going to happen that night.

Of course, though, she didn't say this thought out loud. It would only cause more tension between her and her partners. And tension was something they couldn't afford to mess their plans up.

"Are you all ready?" Adam whispered, hand on his sword. The small group of serfs was gathered at the foot of the Arc Castle Walls. Since the gala required more guards and soldiers to keep order, there were only a few patrolling the outer defense. Blake's perfect night vision could see a towering bulk of a man walking past her up in the wall, crossbow loaded and locked.

"Yep," Lydia said softly.

"I'm ready," Eliza said from her left.

"Me too," Another Cambion named Eli declared.

"Blake?" Adam questioned. The black haired girl only nodded before taking out Gambol Shroud. The inky color seemed to disappear in the night as she moved it around.

"Okay, Lydia and Blake, you're up," Adam said.

"Got it," Lydia said eagerly. Blake just rolled her eyes and followed the monkey tailed girl as they slowly crawled forwards at the foot of the wall. Lydia gave Blake the signal to launch what Blake labeled, 'Gambol Shroud's II Usage', or basically the Dagger Launcher. The cat Faunus quickly shot the black dagger up into the air, a trailing ribbon closely behind. It pierced itself into the stone and Blake gave a slight tug.

"It's safe," She stated, and used the string to help her climb up the wall. Below her, she could hear the others holding their breaths as if they expected her to fall. When she reached the end of the ribbon, she grabbed onto the wall's ledge and hoisted herself up on the flat platform. Looking left and right, she let out a relieved sigh; no guards in sight. She peered over the ledge and threw down Gambol Shroud to Lydia, who grabbed hold the weapon. Blake pulled her up with ease and the two exchanged a quiet 'let's go' look. They quietly tiptoed down one of the wall's towers, easily taking out a few soldiers that were in the way. Once they reached the bottom floor, Blake could make out a few more guards at the castle's entrance. The distant sound of clapping and cheering echoed throughout the cold night air.

"Stupid royals," Lydia muttered, "Having a damn ball when others are starving." Blake didn't respond, only narrowed her eyes to make out the area better. The two Faunus were on the West Side of the Castle, near the entrance to the royal ball room. The castle dungeons were located about a flight of stairs underneath the palace, right below the kitchen. Not the perfect place to put prisoners, Blake thought, but then again everyone had their reasons for doing things. The dungeons consisted of aura locks; something that Blake alone knew. They required a person's aura to unlock the doors and other private areas, but couldn't be unlocked that way from the inside. Now the she had thought about it, she should've brought that up to the White Serfs back at the meeting.

"Are you done daydreaming?" Lydia hissed. Blake glared at her and tightened her grip on her weapon. They couldn't just barge in, not without causing a scene.

"I'm thinking," Blake whispered sharply. Back to what to do. They could climb the main West Tower and strike from there. That seemed like a reasonable plan. Now all they had to do was to not get caught, "Okay, here's the plan."  
"I'm listening."  
"We scale the West Tower, over there," Blake pointed to the large looming tower near them, "From there we enter the castle, hopefully avoid any guards, and give Adam the signal that he's clear to enter. When he gets here, he sends the signal and we all capture this place."

"Scale like in what we just did two minutes ago."  
"Yes."  
"Fine by me," Lydia peered over the ledge of the wall, "But unfortunately some of the guards are, well, guarding the courtyard." Blake looked down and mentally sighed. About five Arc soldiers were patrolling the cobblestone path leading to the West Tower Entrance, and despite the fact she and her partner were still and silent, she doubted they could pull off such a risky task without causing some alarm.

Which meant…

"Plan B," Blake reluctantly said, leading Lydia to pull out her long sword.

"I was hoping you would say that," The Cambion said, and Blake tightened her grip on her katana and daggers.

"Remember, no killing," Blake warned, "Or else after this I'm going to be kicked out of the White Serfs for treason." The two hovered their heads over the palace grounds, "I'll get those three," Blake pointed to three broad shouldered guards on the right, "And you get those." Lydia nodded, and bent down on one knee.

"One, two-," Blake didn't wait for her partner to finish, instead instantly jumped and landed on the hard stone. Almost immediately the guards tried to attack, their weapons brandishing as they ran towards the two demons.

"Dramatic, much?" Lydia growled, and ran to her left. Blake, making sure the ribbon was secured on her arm, unattached the dagger at her waist and held it in her hand. Without thinking, she threw the short sword at her enemy and watched it miss his head by an inch.

"Nice try," The soldier said, "But I'm afraid tha-"

_THWACK! _His helmet rattled at Blake pulled back her arm and knocked the dagger into his head. He stumbled backwards for a few seconds before another guard caught him by the underarms.

"Get them!" He shouted, and the other guard next to him ran at Blake. She brought out her katana and blocked the man's swing as he tried to decapitate the Cambion. Her arms seemed to fly in the wind as she quickly backed away and activated her semblance. The soldier swiped at empty space, and before he could question it Blake had already hit him from behind. He fell forwards and she cut him in the leg, blood pooling out like a hot spring.

"Behind you!" Lydia shouted, and Blake swiftly turned around to see the other two guards advancing on her position. She tossed her dagger again and spun it through the air like a rolling wheel before bringing it back and repeating the process. Her tricky maneuver caused the soldiers to hesitate going near the dangerous girl. Blake pulled the ribbon back one more time before running towards the men. She dodged a strike and jumped. Doing a mid-air flip, she looked down and turned on her semblance before hurriedly planting her feet onto the ground. She bent down and swung Gambol Shroud at her opponent's feet, making sure to jab them right below the knee.

"Argh!" One of them yelled, and Blake held in a smirk. He fell down to the ground and she pushed herself up using his body. Her legs kicked the other guard as she jumped over the fallen down man, and he stumbled backwards into the sharp blade of Lydia. The other demon held the sword at his neck, and seemed to have a glint in her eyes.

"Let him go," Blake commanded, and looked around the area. It didn't seem like they gave the guards a chance to sound the alarms, evident by the fact they weren't dead yet, so they had time, "We have to give Adam the signal." Lydia let out a fake sigh, and stabbed the man in the shoulder before tossing him downwards in a tired manner.

"You take the fun out of everything," She whined. Blake ignored her and pointed to the door leading to the inside of the castle.

"You know what to do, right?" She asked. Lydia nodded.

"I keep watch while you signal Adam that the coast is clear." Blake headed towards the door and entered the palace. The two Cambions took out their weapons again, but to their relief there weren't any Arc guards waiting to slit their throats. Blake studied the hallway they were in with wonder; she had never seen anything so amazing. In the days back at the White Fang bases where she was left with nothing else to do but read, Blake's head had soaked in all the pictures and words that described the architecture of the castles. The luminosity of the light from the torches seemed to dance on the painted walls, full of stone carvings of battles and heroes and real life events that took place during the Great War. The paintings were rich with vibrant colors and made her want to actually smile from the beauty of it all.

"Hey bookworm," Lydia interrupted her thoughts, causing Blake to glower at her. She hated that nickname all her brothers and sisters had her titled with, "I know that it's bloody great and all, but we have to hurry." The black haired girl didn't reply, only bounded for the stairs that led to the top of the West Tower. Running upwards, her ears picked up no trace of movement, so that meant the coast was clear. She quickly reached the top and gazed out of the open window into the darkness.

"You think that Adam will be able to see us?" Lydia said from behind.

"I hope so," Blake muttered, and took out the oil. Lydia grabbed a torch from the wall and held it out. Blake carefully put the jar under the flames, making sure not to burn her hand. They're plan was to hold up the burning oil as a signal to the WS below.

"UP THERE!" A shout came from the hallway they had just exited.

"Bloody hell," Lydia cursed, and moved the torch away from the black liquid before it could catch on fire. The sound of footsteps echoed through the tower walls, "They know we're here!" Blake growled, and then set the oil down on the ledge of the window. She put her head out the window, grabbed the torch out of Lydia's hand, and waved it around wildly. Not as subtle as just lighting a small jar of oil, but it would have to substitute for now. A flaming arrow suddenly pierced itself into the stone next to Blake's head, signaling that Adam got the message. She latched the jar back on her belt and turned to her partner.

"We have to go now, this place will be under siege any minute," Lydia stated, and took out her sword. A soldier suddenly appeared out of the blue and the scaly tailed demon kicked him back into the guards behind him before swiping her weapon feverishly. Blake gored another soldier in the shoulder and watched his back press into the wall as she twisted the sword in his flesh.

"Nice job," Lydia said. Blake stopped her torture immediately. She wasn't a monster, not like _them _anyways.

"I'm sorry," She whispered to the man, who was breathing heavily. The sound of glass breaking and people screaming caused her blood to turn cold.

"I guess this is the end of the Arcs, huh?" Lydia said casually, and sat down on the ledge of the window, "Which means another step to our freedom." More sounds of terror were heard and Blake remembered Adam's words to her.

_Once you and Lydia light the signal, I want you to stay put. _It slowly dawned onto her that Adam never acted like a protective figure towards his soldiers. It was either fight or die. And for Blake especially Adam wanted her skills on the battlefield.

So-

"Why would Adam just order us to sit back and watch all this?" Blake wondered aloud.  
"Who cares, Blake?" Lydia twirled her sword, "However, I do enjoy killing those stupid bastards, but orders are orders."  
"Yeah…" The raven-haired girl mused. She fingered the can of oil and vaguely heard the sounds of battle commencing in the ballroom. Her eyes closed and her body relaxed slightly as she went into complete focus on her surroundings. Adam often called this her "Zen Mode" or when Blake was in perfect harmony with the world. It was a rare trait that Cambions had, and allowed the user to focus completely on her environment so she could detect even the slightest thing out of place.

A tiny prickle of pain formed in her left eye, and Blake looked out the window. Blocking out Lydia's protests to keep her head back, the horned animal noticed the faint outline of a person entering the Southern Tower. The moonlight illuminated on the black shroud of a person, and she narrowed her eyes; No White Serf was ordered to enter that way, she was sure of it.

"I'm going to check out something," Blake said quickly. Lydia blocked her way out of the tower, "Relax, Lydia, I'll be back."

"What are you doing?" Lydia asked.

"There was someone going in through the Southern Tower. No one was ordered to do that."  
"It's none of our concern, Blake," Her partner said coldly, but Blake's amber eyes detected the small pin-points of sweat, swallowing, and rapid blinking.

All signs of lying.

"Move out of my way," Blake pointed her katana at Lydia's chest, "What's Adam planning to do?"  
"Nothing!" Lydia exclaimed, and reached for her weapon as well, "Blake, I am damn serious, this is none of your concern!"  
_The arc castle is a vast piece of stone built like any other castle is modeled after. With the royal family living on the South side of the land as per say a tradition that originated out of the Great War. _The excerpt from a book of architecture she had once read echoed in Blake's mind.

"He's going to kill the king," Blake whispered out loud, and Lydia suddenly shot up and swung her sword her Blake's head. The Cambion barely had time to duck before another onslaught of attacks came at her. With the limited space Blake had to move and defend herself with, she knew she would have to take the battle elsewhere.

Or…

"What did Adam tell you to do!?" Blake yelled, and blocked an attack with Gambol Shroud.

"To keep you away from his plans!" Lydia replied, and positioned her legs so that Blake's strength couldn't push her down with her weapon.

"He lied me!" Blake said, though this wasn't directed towards her opponent, "How could I be so stupid?"

"Well, what did you expect? That he was going to turn into a moralistic bullshit person overnight?" Lydia said

"Damn you!" Blake said loudly, and shifted her feet so that she could get a good stance in position for what she was about to do next. The pressure that Lydia was forcing was about to make her buckle under, and she could not allow that. With one last burst of energy, Blake backed up into the wall. Lydia, seeing her chance to strike, thrust her sword where Blake's heart would have been.

Key word: Would.

With a small smile, Blake ran to the left, leaving her shadow clone behind, and watched as Lydia's sword entered thin air. The horned Cambion knocked the weapon out of her hand and kicked the girl down the stairs into the bodies of the Arc Guards. Lydia's head hit the stone wall with a loud thud and promptly passed out. Blake quickly grabbed her sword and put it onto her belt as well, a gut feeling telling her she would need it later, and ran down the stairs.

It was time to find Adam.

* * *

**Arc Castle Grounds**

**About Two Minutes Away From Death**

_So this is how I die, _Jaune thought, not even the slightest bit of hope left in his soul. His father was dead, his mother was now a million ashes, and now the only person that had the power to get the hell out of the castle grounds was lying on the floor with an arrow in his chest.

So, yeah, he didn't blame himself for being so pessimistic. The man named Adam walked up, a maniacal grin etched onto his face. Jaune recognized his name from somewhere, but did it really matter? He was going to die and unless fate had another plan for his life, then he was utterly doomed.

"Why do you want Ren?" Jaune managed to ask. At least he could die knowing some important subjects, "And what do you want with my family?"  
"Oh, Jaune Arc," Adam said, "Let me tell you it is going to be a pleasure watching your guts spill out all over my feet." Jaune gritted his teeth, "But let me assure you nothing will ever be as good as killing a _king_."

* * *

Blake raced down the hallway, not even caring about the fact that her coif was dangling hallway off her head from running. All that mattered was getting to the king in time and stopping her leader from destroying the good man. It wasn't that hard tracking down the soon-to-be murderer, as a trail of cheery red blood went down from the ballroom to the south side of the castle. Now all she had to do was hope she wasn't too late.

"Adam!" She yelled, and looked down at the red path she was following. The blood suddenly turned and Blake found herself outside a fancy looking door. She tried to turn the handle but found that it had been locked from the inside, "Adam, you bloody bastard open up!" Frustration filled her veins, and Blake stabbed her weapon into the wooden door with ease. It splintered and she reached into the hole she created to grab the lock. Twisting it ever so slightly, the door opened and she went in.

Blood.

That was the first thing she noticed about the room.

So.

Much.

Blood.

On the carpet, on the walls. A never ending line of red death that told her she was too late. The bedside table that stood in the corner was flipped, the candle long extinguished. Papers and parchments were scattered everywhere, each one with flecks of scarlet embedded into the words. Blake's eyes trailed down to the shape of a body lying face down on the floor. A scream hitched in her throat.

Oh, Remnant, no. Without a moment's hesitation she ran over to the nearly dead king and flipped him right-side-up. His face was bruised and bloodied, a long cut going over his right eye and ending at his chin. Blake looked at his chest, several sword cuts cleanly made. She knew at once he wasn't going to survive, no matter how much she wanted to believe it. To believe that good would always win.

But life wasn't a fairytale, and that was what hurt her most.

"I'm…so sorry," She croaked. John's unscathed eye opened up and stared at the demon

towering above, "I didn't mean for this to happen."

"You…are…a-"

"A monster," She choked, "A demon that kills innocent people." Blake took off her coif.

"No." Blake looked at him in surprise, "You…are…different." Amber eyes widened and Blake tried to find the correct words to say.

"You…don't understand. I am a monster. A Cambion."  
"Are…you…one…in..side?"  
"What?" She said softly, not believing what she just heard. Was she one inside? A demon who loved to kill, to bane on others?

"I-I don't k-know," She shakily admitted. The king seemed sad at this answer and closed his eye.

"Pl…ease, protect…" His words grew still and his breathing stopped, but Blake knew what he was about to say. Protect his son. His only son. Protect the boy who was, technically, now king.

Protect the only one that could take back Vale.

But if she didn't do something soon, then he wouldn't need protecting. No, he would need a six-foot grave for his body to decompose in. Gently setting down the deceased leader, she bowed in respect and stood up. The world seemed to slow down as the sudden truth dawned onto Blake. It wasn't her, but Adam who had caused this. Adam who had killed the king with no hint of mercy in his mind. Who had killed a man who had just entrusted his prince's future in the hands of a demon.

And she was going to stop him, even if it meant costing her own life. Because that was what a Cambion did, they made people fear them. And once she was done with Adam, there was going to be something to fear about.

"I'll protect your son," Blake said in a hushed whisper, even though she knew no one could hear her, "I promise."

* * *

**Arc Castle Grounds**

**1 Minute Before Death**

Jaune's eyes drifted to the ground, his heart racing, head pounding. His dad was dead. Killed by the monster that was standing before his very eyes.

"I would like to say that it was painless," Adam continued, aimlessly waving his sword closer and closer to the prince's head, "But…it wasn't."

"You bastard," Jaune muttered, and lifted his head up to look Adam. Everything seemed so unreal, the deaths, the fact that he was now…king.

Well, not for long…maybe. Jaune looked around, eyes scanning for anyway to escape. He had a purpose, and that was to avenge his father, avenge his title. And nothing was going to stop him.

Okay…a few minor details stood in his way. But as long as he kept Adam talking, then he was alive and breathing.

"What do you want with me?" Jaune asked.

"Just a long grudge I've held," Adam said, "About royals like you that believe they can just treat others like dirt and get away with it."  
"You've got the wrong person then," He replied defiantly, remembering Weiss and her family's attitude towards the lower class, "And where's Weiss?"  
"The little snow princess?" Someone from the crowd said, "Oh, don't worry about her. She'll be fine as long as you do what we ask."  
"But won't you kill me anyways?" Jaune asked innocently.

"We only want him," Adam pointed his katana at the unconscious servant boy at Jaune's side.

"Why?"  
"I'm afraid that my colleague didn't say anything about why," Adam said truthfully, "But he did promise I had the permission to kill every royal I could lay my hands on. Jaune gulped, and fingered the hilt of his sword. If a fight would engage, then he was dead, but it would be better than being killed whilst kneeling down on the ground.

_Oh, Remnant what do I do?  
_

* * *

_Prince Jaune would have likely tried to escape, _Blake thought to herself, _question is where._ She dashed down the hallway, making sure to avoid the dead bodies, and turned a corner. Suddenly, the answer slapped her in the face; The Castle Gates. The easiest way to get out of the palace without having to climb over tall stone walls.

The place where Adam was probably about to kill the prince himself. Without wasting another second Blake started running once more and nearly crashed into a few injured guards on the way, leading to her foot slipping on a pool of blood. She grabbed onto a nearby half-ripped tapestry dangling loosely from the ceiling. A jab of pain shot up her side as she fell and the jar of oil poked her ribs. Muttering a curse, Blake used the decorated curtain to pull herself up. It was a vibrant creation, she noticed, and an idea came to mind. She knew that tapestries took years to fully design and make. They were highly flammable, but inside very tough and made of sturdy fabric.

Truly a spectacular work of art.

_RIIIPPPP. _Blake flinched as the sound echoed through the halls. The now more than half-ripped creation landed on the floor and she picked it up, feeling a bit guilty for ruining something so wonderful, but hopefully saving Jaune's life would make up for it. She folded up the tapestry and continued her mad run towards the Northern end of the castle. Passing a broken glass window, a voice suddenly caught the Cambion's atttention.

"I'm Adam Taurus, leader of this little escapade." Blake stopped, then looked out the hole in the wall. A group of WS members were gathering around something...

Jaune. She saw him on the cobblestone pathway with a horse next to his side along with a green clothed boy.

Blake watched the scene below her with absolute hate. Her eyes scanned the area in hopes of finding something to help her save Jaune. She knew Adam loved to mess with the people he was about to kill, but the Prince wasn't even flinching.

"At least if I'm going to die I want some answers," Jaune said. Blake looked around the hallway for the next phase in her plan,"So please, spare me this one wish." She grabbed a torch on the wall.

Blake unlatched the oil from her belt and held it over the WS below her. If they did manage to capture her after this, then she would be arrested for treason, or worse.

_I already attacked Lydia, though, _She remembered, so maybe it didn't matter anyways. The jar titled slightly and Blake watched the inky substance fall down to the ground. Someone would probably notice the strange liquid that just fell onto their head, so she had to work fast.

"Hey Adam!" She called out, her voice ringing in the air. Adam looked up in shock, then scowled.

"Blake-"She didn't wait for his petty excuse, only held up the torch.

"This…is for everything." Her hand went slack and the bright light fell towards the earth in near silence.

One.

Two.

"Run!" Blake yelled to Prince Jaune as some of the flames burned the feet of the White Serfs. Immediately she jumped down, the long tapestry trailing behind her, and thrust the end into the burning inferno. Catching fire almost instantly, Blake spun the curtain around to try and ignite the Cambions around her. Hot sparks of ember flew into the night air as she managed to burn a couple of her brothers. Taking out her katana, the horned animal dodged a swipe that came at her face and quickly began to engage in battle. Her semblance was put on full max as she jumped over two Cambion and hit them from above. She didn't have time to make sure that Jaune was okay, only give him the opportunity.

_TWACK! _Blake's vision blurred as a mace came out of nowhere and banged her in the head. She barely had time to use her blade to partially block the attack before it forced her to the ground. The burning tapestry flew out her hands and she felt her body collide with the cobblestone surface. Her left arm instinctively reached for her ribbons and she hurled the dagger into the unfortunate face of a Cambion.

"He's getting away!" Someone shouted. Blake twirled her dagger and blocked an arrow coming at her face.

"I'll get him," A gravelly voice said. Out of the corner of her eye, Blake saw her leader speed off into the distance as more White Serfs started to surround her. She quickly dropped the ribbon-dagger into her belt before replacing it with Lydia's sword. Muscles tensed, she watched as a few archers took their stance and aimed their crossbows at her.

_Get to Adam, get to Adam, _However, Blake knew this was easier said than done. Time seemed to slow down as five arrows came rushing at her chest. The horned Cambion activated her semblance and dashed to the left, her blades flying into the bodies of a multitude of White Serfs. The sound of slashing and cutting seemed to pierce the midnight air as she took down her ex-brothers. Grabbing onto the shoulders of one, she hoisted herself up and kicked him in the head before landing on the ground once more. No more arrows were coming after her, no more blades either.

There weren't that many more enemies left, obvious by the dozens of cries of pain filling her ears, and Blake saw that most of them had retreated. A sudden flaming arrow shot up into the sky before flickering out. A sign that the rest of the White Serfs were about to swarm the place. She bent down on one knee and amber eyes seemed to flicker a deadly black before she zoomed into the darkness of the night after Adam.

* * *

**Outside the Arc Castle Grounds**

**Why Isn't This Guy Dead Yet?**

Jaune was slightly panicking. Sure, he was alive, Ren was alive…and currently strapped to the butt of a horse, but that still didn't mean that there were delusional Serfs trying to kill his own ass. The prince shouted another command to his steed and flew through the air as he passed the Arc Castle Gates. A feeling of relief flooded over his mind, now assured that he was safe.

However, fate wasn't going to let him off easily, no matter if he had been put through hell the few hours before. A bloodied red blade came out of the trees and nearly decapitated his horse's head. Jaune quickly stopped and swung Crocea Mors at the attacker, knowing fully who it was. He jumped off the animal and blocked the sharp blade of a certain murderer.

"I admit you have your father's determination," Adam Taurus said, his face expressionless. Jaune didn't respond, only silently thanked his dad for never giving up on their sword lessons. The two figures in the moonlight slowly took their stances, pressed harder on their weapons, and prepared for a predicted short battle. Jaune took a deep breath, his mouth wanting to say something vile back to the demon that had killed his father, but nothing would come out. Not one thing. There were no words to describe the fact that everything he had was gone, and the last slowly dying away.

But there were words to tell the demon that he wasn't about to give up.

"You knew nothing about him," Jaune said, and dug his heels into the earth to keep himself steady, "You know nothing about _me."  
_"I doubt that, Prince Jaune," Adam snarled, "But I respect the fact that your still alive to this point, though I suppose you have my old friend Blake to thank for that…"  
"Make sure to tell her I said 'thanks,'" Jaune said, trying to hold the firm and confident tone in his voice. His arms bent a little and he knew that he didn't have that much time before Adam would overpower him. A trickle of sweat rolled down his face and his legs felt like stiff wooden boards, but he couldn't afford to lose focus.

Just…a little…

Crap. Adam tilted his sword and backed away quickly, the loss of weight causing Jaune to fall forwards. The demon watched as the prince coughed up dirt and tried to lift himself up. Adam raised his sword, a sweet, yet bitter taste filling his mouth.

_CLANG! _A shot of pain raced through his hands, blood pouring onto his face as his weapon was knocked out his grasp. He looked at his hands in shock and realized that the new attacker had cut cleanly though his middle and index fingers, only the ends of them hanging off in a grisly manner.

"YOU BASTARD!" The words caused Adam's blood to boil, and he turned around to see the amber eyed girl race at him, katana prepped and ready to kill. On instinct, he jumped back and barely dodged the edge of Blake's blade swipe. Ignoring the fact that his fingers were about to unhinge from their rightful spots, the Cambion quickly grabbed his sword before thrusting it out, unwillingly causing a large cut to appear on Blake's left arm. The horned Cambion's eyes widened as she realized she had been injured.

"Blake-"

"I TRUSTED YOU!" If looks could kill Adam would have been long dead, as Blake's face was a fury of hate. He glanced at the stunned prince, now standing, with his sword drawn. So much for killing him…

"Oh hell," Adam, using his good hand, banged his katana against Blake's as she tried to stab him again. Jaune looked left from right, trying to decide what the Remnant was going on. So far, he had figured that the raven-haired girl named Blake was on his side, or at least not wanting to murder him, so he took a step towards her.

"Run you idiot!" She screamed, and he instantly backed away. Her sword clashed against Adam's as the two interlocked in a seemingly never ending duel, "I'll hold him off." Jaune only nodded before grabbing the reigns of his panicking horse and taking off into the forest. Mentally cursing himself and Blake, Adam turned his attention back to his ex-partner.

"I bloody trusted you," She seethed, every word coated in venom, "And you go off and kill King John?"  
"I'm not even going to try and act like I'm sorry," Adam leaned in closer to her face, "Because I know that what I did will only get us closer to finally being treated the way we deserve."  
"We deserve to be treated right by not what we do, but by who we are!" Blake countered, "Not out of fear, but out of respect. Out of love and acceptance," She lowered her gaze to the ground, "Two things that I no longer hold for you." Adam's eyes widened under his mask in surprise.

"Blake-"  
"Goodbye, Adam," She said softly. And for a few seconds, there was only silence as the two's trust in each other severed completely, their hearts torn as Blake activated her semblance and made a full 180 degree turn around Adam. Her eyes pinpointing the spot where to land a solid hit, her sword, being thrusted into his shoulder and rendering him useless.

Yes, there were no words needed to describe the fact that the close brother and sister of the White Serfs were no more. Dark vermillion liquid gushed out of Adam's wound, his body falling to the ground. He wasn't dead, Blake would rather die than kill the very one that raised her most of her life. But he was barely alive, and she knew that a White Serf would eventually find him later and heal him back to health.

Physically, that is. Blake sighed as his body lay still on the rocky soil, his breathing shallow and warning her that he was no longer a threat to her world, so long as she escaped Vale. Almost self-consciously, her horns gave off a tingling sensation and she tore the coif off. How long she stared at the piece of clothing, she had no idea. But, as the moon still hung in the sky, as its rays of white light shined down on the now lonely Cambion...

Blake threw the coif to the ground and turned around.

* * *

The Princess was almost dead when she found her. Her clothing partially destroyed, her head oozing blood onto the once green grass. Blake immediately recognized her as Weiss Schnee of Atlas, maybe even Queen depending on the fact if her parents were still alive or not. How strange it must be to suddenly become ruler of an entire nation in one night, but Blake didn't have time to ponder such childish thoughts. Weiss was dying and that was all that mattered. She had no clue where Jaune had gone off, or if he was still alive. But she had helped him escape and now her deal with the dead king was now sealed. Blake kneeled down and studied Weiss, wondering how she survived the attack and how she ended up in the middle of a field. Suddenly, the glimmer of a dark green gem caught her eye. A crown, now in two pieces and cracked beyond repair, was lying three feet away from the snow queen's head. Inside, the piece of rare dust was slightly glowing.

It had been used. Dust only glowed when after or in use. But how? People barely knew how to use dust properly. But then again, Weiss Schnee was the daughter of a dust user. Maybe her father had taught her how to use the powerful material, but that still didn't explain the fact that she was still alive. The princess suddenly groaned softly, and Blake sighed. This would put a delay in her plans, no doubt. But leaving her to die was just wrong. Tying her last ribbon over her arm to staunch her still bleeding wound, she picked up Weiss and started to walk. The white-haired girl seemed at peace, and a faint smile was on her lips, but Blake didn't question it, as she had more things to worry about.

Adam. The White Serfs. The fact that the only heir to Vale was on the run for his life. And yet, despite everything that had happened in the past few days, Blake felt…different. It was a weird feeling, one that the Cambion had never felt before. She had tried to shake it off before meeting the ice princess, but it just wouldn't go away. Not happiness, not sadness, but more like a feeling of _peace, _like she had done something that had freed her from the things that held her down.

Yes. Freedom. She felt _free. _After years of being forced to kill, to murder, she finally didn't have to ruin anymore lives.

Freedom. A simple, yet powerful world. One that would change her life forever.

But everyone knows freedom comes with a price.

* * *

A/N: And done. I, personally, love Blake, and her involvement with Adam and the WF, and I made Adam sort of a violent maniac sort of guy.

YeaaahhhHHH...anyways. Please review, as reviews are always appreciated, and see you all in** (inserts time slot) **Oh, and if I have time, I'm going to go back to chapter 2 and revise it all, mainly because (IMO) I made it WAY too short and I feel like I can add more to it now that I'm learning more about Medieval life and mythology.

**Shadow out!**


	5. Chapter 5: Rock and a Hard Place

A/N: AND...WERE BACK. Chapter 5 of the long title I don't want to type. Sadly, this chapter doesn't have Pyrrha or Nora (as many of you have asked) but I WILL get them the story SOON. I promise. With that out of the way, time for reviews.

TigerRaiken: Thanks for all the helpful and kind reviews you've sent! And all your questions will be answered in due time...

Thryr373: Thanks for the nice review

Ikasury: Like said before, they will appear, and I'm glad you're having fun reading this.

The Night Hunter: Thank you!

* * *

**Chapter 5: Rock and a Hard Place  
**

_**History is important, gentlemen! If you can't learn from it... you're destined to repeat it.**_

**Signal, Vacuo. Present Time  
**

"So, why are you here?" The girl asked.

"It's a long story. But let's just say everyone I know is...gone."

"Gone?" The red haired girl said, "Like in...gone, gone?"  
"What other kind of gone is there?" Weiss snapped.

"I don't know," The girl mumbled, "Like, 'back in a little bit' gone, or 'see you soon' gone-"

"They're dead," The princess stated harshly, and stood up. She had managed to get the multicolored dust freed from the soldiers belts and held them tight in her hands, "At least, that's probably what happened."  
"Oh, I'm sorry...but," The girl extended her hand, "I'm Ruby." Weiss hesitated, not wanting to touch the probably filthy peasant, but realized that she herself was probably in a more dirty state.

"I'm Weiss Schnee," She said and they shook hands. Ruby put down her scythe and Weiss studied the girl a bit. She looked like any regular lower-class person she had met before, with a tangled mess of red hair and a quirky smile on her face. But her eyes were silver, not like the spoons and forks the princess used in dining, but actual silver like in the rare metal in the earth.

"So, why were you with Roman Torchwick?" Ruby inquired, "If I may ask."

"You may," Weiss said, at least she had _some _manners, "Since I'm a princess, I was supposed to be dancing the night away at the Arc Castle. But the White Serfs-"  
"You mean that group of rebel peasants?" Ruby asked.

"Yes," Weiss said, slightly irked at being interrupted, "After they attacked my fiance's castle-"  
"Ooh! You were going to get married!" The red head squealed, and Weiss held up her hand to silence her.

"As I was saying, his castle was attacked and I was kidnapped by two of them. However, someone rescued me and long story short, I ended up getting captured by Roman."  
"That's...not right."

"Huh?"  
"Well, why would someone do such a terrible thing?" Ruby seemed genuinely puzzled by this and Weiss realized that the girl had a look of innocence on her face. Of course, that was it, she was just...not used to the world. Weiss had been through that stage of life, but not at that old of age.

"I...don't know," Weiss lied, deciding not to go in a whole talk about politics and peasants and all that junk.

"Well, Weiss, you're from Vale, right?"

"Yes, well, technically Atlas, but I was in Vale during the time. But what does this have to do with anything?"  
"This is Vacuo, as in far, far away from Vale."

"It's only felt like a week since I was at the castle."  
"I think that whoever rescued you carried you away more than you expected," Ruby said, "Because, depending on the trails you take and where you take them, going from Vale to Vacuo takes some time unless near the border of Haven." Weiss let her words sink in. She was right, no doubt about that. Everyone knew that the only way to get to Vacuo was going through Mistral, then Haven, then ride a boat across the waters to get to the desert like country. Maybe she was unconscious for some time as the strange girl took her away from the Arc Castle. She vaguely remembered slipping in and out of the present day ever since meeting General Roman, as well as the smell of seat salt...

"So that means that I'm-"  
"On the edge of Vacuo," Ruby finished for her. Remnant, that was getting on Weiss's nerves, "You must have taken a boat here."

"Where's 'here' exactly?"  
"Signal, Vacuo, my hometown," Ruby informed. Weiss's mind went back to the many hours of boring lectures she endured. Being a princess meant having to go through multiple private classes on Remnant and it's geography. Vacuo was supposed to be the largest country, with scorching heat and dry winds, and the town of Signal was no exception. It lied on the very West edge of the continent, as Weiss could guess, and apparently near one of Roman's bases, as he had talked about stopping at the "town full of village idiots' on the way there. The snow-haired girl looked around, trying to ignore the strange stares she was getting from people. She suddenly realized that she must have looked like a mess, as being dragged across two countries and an ocean does that to you.

"So...Weiss," Ruby said, and rocked back and forth in an awkward manner, "I suppose that you're in a rock and a hard place, right?"  
"Huh?" Weiss said, snapping out of her thoughts.

"Oh, it's an expression my dad used to use," Ruby laughed, "But it means that you basically have a bunch of bad choices of what to do."  
"Oh," Weiss sighed and considered the redhead's words. She was right, after all. Weiss had no idea how to get back to Atlas, let alone survive one night alone in the open, bandit filled country. Sure, she was pretty tough, but definitely not a world traveling kind of princess. She thought about getting help from Vacuo's government, but she had no idea where the capitol was, let alone if she could get to it before something killed her.

"If you want...you can stay with me for a little bit," Ruby said softly.

"What?" Weiss asked in a rude tone.

"I was just thinking that since you have nowhere to go-"  
"Of course I have somewhere to go!" Weiss snapped, her bottled up rage spilling out, "Why wouldn't I, Princess Weiss Schnee, not have anywhere to go!" Her voice cracked and she turned her away from Ruby. She had nowhere to go. No where to run unless she wanted death. She didn't even know if she was a princess anymore, or even a citizen of Atlas. No, she was a stupid girl who let herself be controlled by Cambions, a girl who didn't even know where to be, where to go.

"Ruby!" A man's voice rang in the air, causing Weiss to turn back around. She saw a man who had similar physical traits to the young girl. He waved his hands in the air and make a 'come over here' motion, "Yang's awake!" The snow princess heard Ruby sigh in relief.

"Oh, thank Remnant," Ruby muttered, and started to run towards the building where the man had come out from. She suddenly stopped, and looked at Weiss with sad eyes.

"What?!" Weiss scowled, praying that the girl would just go away.

"You should come with me," Her soft tone surprised Weiss, "I have some food, if you want."

_Gurgle, _Of course her stomach would make a hungry sound at that moment. Weiss mentally yelled at her gut and watched as Ruby gave a hopeful glance her way.

_Gurgle...gurgle. _Weiss squeezed her eyes shut and sighed.

"Fine." Ruby grinned at the princess's reply and headed towards what Weiss assumed to be a blacksmith shop. She watched as the redhead waved her scythe in a happy manner and hit an unfortunate pedestrian on the streets.

"OH MY REMNANT I'M SO SORRY!" Ruby yelled, but didn't waste any time to stop and make sure he was okay.

_I am so going to regret this, _and with that final thought Weiss stomped her feet and followed the hyperactive girl into the building.

* * *

Weiss nearly puked at the condition of the shop. Didn't peasants know anything about good hygiene? The floor was dirty, covered in ash, and had several twitching dead bugs lying everywhere. A foul smell of burning metal caused the white haired girl to gag, and she covered her mouth with her hand to try and keep out the aroma. Ruby grabbed a some bread out of the kitchen in the corner of the house and tossed it to Weiss.

"Yang!" Ruby called, and ran past an open door that lead to the back of the shop. Weiss greedily ate the bread and looked at the dozens of racks full of highly remarkable weapons and tools, feeling a bit impressed at the craftsmanship of them all. She heard a noise from the back room and quietly opened the door. It was dimly lit, with a few spare beds and a dusty dresser in the corner. A girl with frizzy blond hair and a good amount of bandages on her arm was seen hugging the redhead sweetly, a radiant grin on her face.

_Winter was like this, _Weiss thought, a feeling of sadness tinting her heart. Ruby noticed the princess standing there, and jumped off the bed immediately.

"Oh, Weiss!" She squeaked.

"Who's the ice princess?" Yang joked, causing Weiss to glower at her.

"I'm Weiss Schnee," She said indignantly, Yang only smiled more and tackled her sister in a bear hug.

"So, are your injuries alright?" Ruby asked, pointing to the white bandages.

"Yeah, I'll live," Yang said, "Besides, I'm just glad Roman and his soldiers are gone."

"What happened?" Weiss inquired.

"I got beat up from Roman's lousy whip," Yang growled.  
"I told you learning to fight was a good idea," Ruby muttered. The two shared a knowing glance and Weiss guessed that something had happened between them. Finally, after a long pause, Yang let out a sigh.

"Okay. Fine. You were right," She huffed. Ruby lit up and threw her arms around her sister again.

"Thank you," The redhead whispered quietly, "And I should have told you sooner."  
"It's alright," Yang replied. Weiss stood there stiff, trying hard not to say anything to ruin the moment.

"So, care to explain who you are?" Weiss asked.

"I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister."

"Really, you tow don't look blood related, not to be rude or anything."  
"Nah, it's cool. We both share the same father, but our moms were different," Yang explained.

"Was that your father back there?"

"No," Ruby said, and Weiss noticed her voice became quieter, "He's our uncle." Weiss, seeing her depressed tone, decided to let the matter drop.

"...Okay."

"Girls?!" A voice came from outside the room.

"Yes, Uncle Qrow?!" Ruby and Yang called at the same time. So that was his name. Weiss made a mental note to remember that.

"Come here, please!" The two sisters jumped off the bed and raced past Weiss, who soon ran after them. The man named Qrow was carrying a few abnormal objects in his hands and tossed them onto a nearby wooden table. They clattered to the surface and he looked at his nieces.

"Qrow, this is Weiss," Ruby introduced.

"I know," He said simply.

"You what?" Weiss said. She had never met this person before, but Qrow ignored her surprised nature.

"What are these things?" Ruby asked, picking up one of the items; an old and dusty book. Her uncle's face turned grim.

"These...are the reasons why Roman came here."  
"What!?" Ruby dropped the book onto Weiss's foot.

"OW!" The princess shrieked, and Ruby swiftly grabbed the book and threw it on the table.

"Heh, heh, sorry," The redhead said.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Yang said before Weiss could reply, "You're saying that all this junk is why General Roman came and smacked me with a whip?" Ruby noticed her sister's eyes turning a dangerous red.

"Yang..." She started.

"In a way, yes," Qrow said, "But before you explode, let me explain." He picked up the book that Ruby had chosen before and held it up in the light to get a better look. The cover was faded, and definitely old, but Weiss couldn't help but feel a sense of power coming from the artifact. Colors of royal purple and gold swirled across the front and back, with the spine of the book embedded with a few odd symbols.

"Okay," Yang slapped her forehead with her hand in frustration, "Let me repeat myself. This dusty old book is the reason why Roman came here?"  
"Yes," Qrow took a deep breath and pried open the object. A bright glow of white emitted from the book, causing Weiss to close her eyes in hopes of avoiding becoming blind. Beside her, Ruby and Yang did the same. When she felt the light fade, she opened her eyes and saw that the pages of the book were written in the same strange symbols on the spine.

"Qrow, what is this?" Ruby asked, a hint of awe in her voice.

"This, is an ancient family heirloom that has survived ever since the Great War."

"The Great War?" Weiss said in shock. Sure, she had seen swords and shields that had been passed down generation from generation, but seeing a tiny old book was new. Qrow fingered the markings and held the book at an angle so the three girls could study it.

"Yes, the Great War," Qrow said, "The language they wrote back then has been nearly forgotten in the past years. A shame, really, as it was very beautiful, but that's not the point. The point is that this book is very potent, and very deadly. It belonged to a girl named Luxa, who lived during the war. She wrote in this diary about what was going on, but-" He turned to the end, and Weiss could see that from there on the pages were...blank. Minus the bits of dried blood scattered across the paper, it looked entirely empty.

"Why is there nothing beyond that point?" Weiss questioned, becoming the slightest bit interested in the blacksmith's tale.

"I don't know," Qrow admitted, "All the information that's been passed down only states that she died. But she managed to give this to a family friend who soon was given the job of passing it down to his children."

"So...dad's side of the family?" Yang said.

"Correct," Qrow said, "Taiyang would often try and decipher this, but it was just so bloody confusion that he wasn't even able to get the first letters of the alphabet."

"So, why is this relevant to our problems?" Weiss asked. To her surprise, Qrow gave a grim smile her way.

"You are Weiss Schnee, correct?" He asked.

"Um...yes."

"The lost princess of Atlas?"  
"I'm not lost...ish." Weiss crossed her arms.

"I heard about your kidnapping at the main marketplace in Beguiment."

"That's the main town a few miles from here," Ruby explained, "He goes there often to sell our weapons."

"I came across a group of sailors from Vale, stating that the whole country was in terror after what happened to the Arc Castle. My apologies," Qrow said.

"That is not necessary," Weiss said, though she felt grateful for his compassion towards her, "What happened, happened, and no one can change that."

"You are very wise to think that," Qrow said.

"Thank you, but I believe that we have been getting off track," She pointed to the diary.

"Of course. This is relevant because...well, it's a long story."  
"We have time," Yang said lazily.

"That's the problem...we don't," Qrow said.

"Huh?"  
"Roman still knows that these objects are still in my possession. If he returns, I doubt that Ruby will be able to take them again."  
"So, what do you expect us to do? Just pack up and leave?" Yang shouted. Her uncle's silence gave her the answer, "Oh my-"  
"Yang, listen to me," Qrow said slowly, "Ruby's in danger."  
"Then we stay and protect her!" Yang yelled, "We can't just leave you here at mercy of the soldiers!"

"I'll be fine," Qrow said, "But Ruby is different. She is now seen as dangerous and Roman will come back and kill her!" Yang flinched at his harsh tone but stayed silent.

Qrow sighed and continued on his lecture.

"This diary can only be decoded by a man in the large city of Everus."  
"Everus?" Ruby said, "Is that even in Vacuo?"  
"It's located on the east side of the country," Qrow explained, "Where the cities are a bit more advanced in technology and where a man named Ironwood leads his people."  
"Ironwood..." Weiss mused to herself. She recognized that name before, probably one of father's old associates or something.

"So, if I'm getting this straight," Yang tried to speak calmly, "We basically have to pack everything up, travel to this apparently large city, and get this random guy to translate this hundred year old book that probably doesn't mean anything?"

"Have you ever heard of the Statera Crystals?" Qrow asked.

"The what now?"

"The Statera Crystals. Well, this book is the only way to find out where they're located."  
"The Statera Crystals? What in the world are those-"  
"Dust. They're dust." Everyone looked at Weiss. She was fingering the dust crystals at her side subconsciously, her eyes wide.

"So...you know the story, then?" Qrow asked.

"Know it? My father's been trying to get them for over ten years," Weiss said, "I've often...conveniently listened to his meetings with his advisers and one of their main talks is about dust."

"Dust?" Ruby said in confusion.

"We're one of the last families to have a decent supply of the material," Weiss explained, "But my father's always wanted more of it."

"I don't blame him," Yang said, "From the legends I've heard they can do massive damage."

"Yes, well, destruction and my father don't mix well," Weiss said, "But, I suppose they are very powerful. My father has often talked about the Statera Crystals. And enough for me to know what they're power level is."

"Well, you learn something new everyday," Qrow said, "The Statera Crystals are the pure elements of dust."

"Pure elements?" Yang said.  
"It means they haven't been mixed with other types of dust to make new ones. They are literally the beginning stage for all dust afterwords." Weiss explained.

"Correct. Hundreds of years ago, people harvested this dust to use for their own purposes."

"So, this dust is capable of what?" Yang asked.

"Well, of what their element is. Air, Earth, Fire, Ice, War, Lightning, Shadows, and Light. These are the eight scattered remnants of dust that have been hidden for centuries ever since the Great War."  
"I'm guessing this ties into the story you told me earlier, Uncle Qrow?" Ruby said, remembering their conversation on Grimm and Huntsmen.

"What story?" Weiss asked.

"About the Huntsmen and Grimm." Ruby said, causing the white-haired girl to chortle in a rather unladylike way, "What!?"

"You actually believe in those fairytales?" Weiss asked, and Ruby's face reddened.

"Hey, don't make fun of her!" Yang exclaimed, wanting to smack the spoiled princess.

_ "_They are real..." Ruby mumbled.

"Ruby, please," Weiss said, not at all trying to be polite, "Everyone knows the Grimm and Huntsmen are long gone from Remnant."

"It's still fun to read about, though..."  
"It doesn't matter if they're still fun to read about, and it doesn't matter if they're extinct," Qrow interrupted, "But these dust crystals are the key to keeping peace in the world."  
"But, I thought you said we were in a time of peace," Ruby said.

"Well, that peace is about to end, Ruby," Qrow said, "And soon. These pieces of pure dust can be used to power anything, even things we have yet to make or discover. They are the crystals of balance, and that's why Roman was here, to get this book."  
"So...this book can tell us where they are?"  
"In a way, yes, but only if someone manages to translate it," Qrow said.

"But, and this is a big 'but'," Yang pointed at the ice princess, "Why is she important to this?"  
Weiss, feeling a bit offended at the blond's gesture, scowled and decided to answer herself.

"In case you didn't notice, or if your ears were clogged before, I'm a princess, which means I have a royal status, which means that I can get you wherever, whenever, which includes getting into this Everus place without the threat of being shot."

"Weiss is right," Qrow said, "She is the princess of Atlas, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ironwood knew her."

"I've never met him, but he's an associate to my father," Weiss said.

"Then it's settled," Qrow said.

"Alright, we're going on an adventure!" Ruby said, waving her arms in the air wildly.

"Now hold on a sec-" Weiss started to say, but Yang beat her to it.

"NO WAY IN REMNANT ARE WE LEAVING THIS PLACE!" Yang said, flames coming up from the ground beneath her feet. Qrow, Ruby and Weiss jumped back at the sight of fire.

"Yang, we have to!" Ruby argued.

"I promised dad I wanted to keep you safe and we are NOT leaving our home!"

"It won't my home if I die!" Ruby said, her face starting to turn red, "Yang Xiao Long do you not think that this is a shock to me to? That this isn't affecting me? Because it is! I just watched you almost die out there and I can't risk getting you hurt again!" Somehow, Weiss sensed that the two sister's roles of protection had switched, "I know dad would want us to live here, but fate always changes things. Didn't he always used to say that?!"

"Yes bu-"

"No buts!" Ruby yelled, "I know this is a big change, but what's life without any adventure or fun!? We may be in danger, but we have a chance to change things. A chance to change ourselves!" Yang opened her mouth to say something, but slowly closed it as she realized it was no use fighting against the fifteen year old.

"I'm...sorry, Rubes," Yang said, rubbing her bandages, "I'm just worried. We've never been this far from home."

"What happened to the Yang that would always seek out adventures and not be afraid to speak her mind?" Ruby said, "Ever since they died you've always been like this. I'm worried too, Yang, but staying here is suicide." The two siblings gazed at each other for a while, a spark of understanding traveling through there minds. Finally, Yang spoke.

"Fine. But we have to-"

"YES! WE'RE FINALLY GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!" Ruby jumped up excitedly, "OH! What should we pack!? Clothes, of course, and food, duh, but maybe-no, wait that sounds weird now that I think about it..." She continued to ramble on about luggage and maps, causing Weiss's head to spin.

"Is she like this all the time?" The snow-haired girl complained, trying to ignore the massive headache starting to form in her temples.

"Yeah," Yang said simply, and grabbed her sister's shoulders, "Rubes, if we seriously are going, then we have to focus."

"Right," Ruby exclaimed, "Let's do this!" She raised Weiss and Yang's arms up in the air in a victory motion.

"Oh...what fun," Weiss muttered sarcastically, but inside her stomach was trying not to explode. Didn't the young girl understand that they were in real danger? Like, a chance of dying? General Roman Torchwick was not someone to mess with, a fact she learned while with him. And if what her uncle said was true, then there was an even bigger chance that he might be after them. Roman was after _dust, _but not just any dust. The so-called-all-so-mighty Statera dust that Weiss had heard enough of to know that the material was NOT to be messed with.

"Ahem?" Qrow coughed. The three girls looked at him, "I believe that we don't have a lot of time to spare.

"He's right," Yang said, and headed towards the weapons rack, "We have to pack up and get the bloody hell out of here before Roman comes."

"You need something to fight with," Ruby stated.

"Hmm..." Yang browsed through the swords and bows before finally settling on a pair of crossbows. She grabbed a golden colored quiver and a dozen or more arrows, "Your turn, ice princess."

"I'm a princess, not a fighter," Weiss argued.

"You're going to have to change, then," Qrow stated, "When you leave Signal, there's no telling who or what might try and cause harm to you." The white-haired girl scowled, but strolled over next to Yang's side.

"Fine, what should I use then?" Weiss asked.

"Ooh!" Ruby raced over and started shoving weapons into her arms, "How 'bout a dagger-"She threw one to Weiss, almost cutting the latter's head off, "-or a long sword, those are nice and light-" Ruby raised the sword and dropped it at the snow princess's feet. Weiss jumped back in surprise, "OR A MACE!"

"NO MACE!" Weiss shouted, and ducked as Ruby swung the spiky weapon at her face. Ruby stopped and put the mace down before pouting.

"Well, what's your type of style?" She asked.

"Um…" Weiss scanned the weapon once more. She was never a soldier, never a fighter, for that matter. All her life she didn't' need to learn the basics of swordsmanship or how to properly attack. A light weapon for be sufficient, and it needed to be something she could control easily. The snow-haired girl then saw the perfect weapon. She quickly snatched it off the corner of the rack and held it up high.

"A…rapier?" Ruby said in confusion.

"Yes!" Weiss snapped, "What's wrong with that?" The so called rapier had a thin silver blade that stretched out a good distance, perfect for stabbing her enemies from far away. The handle was a dark gray color, and outlined in an inky black.  
"Well…rapier's are a little under the power level," Yang said, "But, hey, as long as you learn how to use that thing I'm okay with it."  
"I don't remember making one of those," Ruby said.

"That's because I traded one my swords for it at Beguiment," Qrow explained.

"Hey, wait a sec!" Ruby said, and grabbed Weiss's arm abruptly, "You need a makeover."  
"What!?" The white-haired girl exclaimed.

"You're in rags, Weiss. We need to get you some more proper clothing."  
"I doubt that a peasant like yourself would be able to do such thing," As soon as the words left her mouth Ruby's face immediately fell. Weiss felt a pang of guilt form in her gut and she sighed, "But...I suppose you can-"  
_WHOOSH! _The sound of Ruby racing Weiss to her closest emitted through the air.

* * *

"Ruby, I don't mean to be a nag, but we have a dangerous general about to enter Signal and you're wasting your time on what I'm going to wear?!" Weiss was impatiently waiting behind the makeshift dressing room Ruby had swiftly made, and currently, the latter was sorting through her clothes to see if she had anything "princess enough".

"Listen, if we are going on a who-knows-how-long adventure, then I really, really want to make sure we look nice," Ruby said, "AHAH!" Suddenly, a bundle of light colored clothing fell onto Weiss's head. She took them off and studied the body-wear. It wasn't too shabby, she admitted to herself, with a white blouse, icy blue bodice, tight leather boots, and a long dark blue colored skirt that went to her ankles. A brown belt with a place to put her rapier was fastened around her waist, as well as a pouch to keep her dust, and the final accessory completed the new found look. Weiss changed quickly and made sure to attach her weapon to her side.

"Are you ready?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, almo-ack!" Weiss jumped back as Ruby flung open the curtain and smiled. Behind her, Yang was also sporting some new clothes, with a bright yellow bodice, black boots, and a white blouse. "You ready?" She asked. Weiss nodded and followed Yang and Ruby outside where Qrow was waiting for them. He handed Yang a black backpack, apparently full of food and medicine.

"Ruby, wait a moment," Qrow seemed a bit nervous as he called over his youngest niece, "There's something else I need to give you."  
"Huh?" Ruby said. Qrow reached into his pocket and brought out a gleaming necklace. The chain was a soft golden color, reflecting the sun's rays every now and then. A dazzling gray gem with blood red streaks was located in the middle.

"This...was your mother's," He said softly. Ruby's eyes widened and she her face paled.

"My mother's?" She asked in disbelief. Qrow nodded and sighed.

"She told me to give this to you when you most needed it," He said, "And now would seen like the proper time."

"When did mom give this to you?" Yang asked from the sidelines.

"Before...you know," Qrow said, not wanting to bring up painful memories. Weiss realized then that Yang and Ruby's parents had probably died at some point in the past. No wonder they were so uncomfortable when she brought it up earlier.

"Oh," Ruby extended her hand to seemingly touch the pendant, but brought it back.

"What's wrong, Rubes?" Yang asked.

"It's just...odd," The redhead admitted, "That this necklace is the only thing left of her besides my cape."

"Huh?" Weiss said outloud.

"Her cape. Our mother gave it to her when she was little," Yang explained, "And Ruby, don't worry about being connected to mom. You know she's always with us."  
"Yeah, I suppose she is," And with those words Qrow tied the piece of jewelry around Ruby's neck. The gem seemed to give off an eerie feel, but Weiss decided not to bring this up in fear of ruining the moment. Ruby gave a faint grin and Qrow handed her Luxa's diary.

"When you get to Everus," He said, "Remember to not to draw attention to yourselves. Roman probably knows that the translator is there, and will possibly have spies in the city."  
"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby said, "Am...am I officially a Huntress now?"

"Huh? Oh...well..."

"Because I'm technically going on my first mission," Ruby stated in a matter of fact voice.

"Well, I suppose that does make you one," Qrow said.

"Then isn't it ready for me to take Noblesse Oblige?"

"Noblesse what?" Weiss said, and turned to Yang for an answer, but the blond was equally confused.  
"Noblesse Oblige," Ruby informed, "Is the oath that all Huntsmen had to take before going on their first mission, as well as before they officially graduated from their schools."  
"What's with you and all this Huntsmen stuff?" Weiss said to no one in particular.  
"Qrow," Ruby turned to her uncle, "Please?"  
"I guess so, but are you sure you're ready?" He asked.  
"NO!" Ruby shouted enthusiastically, "Wait a sec…YES!" She blushed at her mistake, "Yes, yes I am."  
"Very well then," Qrow put his hand on Ruby's shoulder and closed his eyes.  
"Wait a sec, what are you-"Yang didn't get to finish her question, as Qrow began to already speak. His voice was…different, more calm and peaceful, like a great burden was about to leave his body.  
"Repeat after me," He said. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality, through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all."

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality, through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all," Ruby tried not to stutter over her words.

"For noblesse oblige, for noble honor I honor thee to protect. Through periculum and timore, through danger and fear, I will vow to help the good, and vanquish the evil."

"For noblesse oblige, for noble honor I honor thee to protect. Through periculum and timore, through danger and fear, I will vow to help the good, and vanquish the evil."

"I will not bend to metus, nor will I stop that from achieving my goals. And infinite in distance and bound by death, I hold myself to this vow of righteousness in hope for a better yearning for good."

"I…I will not bend to metus, nor will I stop that from achieving my goals," Ruby's voice became stronger and her aura soon became visible as she recited the oath, "And infinite in distance and bound by death, I hold myself to this vow of righteousness in hope for a better yearning for good." No sooner she said this then Qrow took his hand of Ruby's shoulder and smiled. Her aura lit up in a feverish manner and Weiss could see that it had a shining red hue to it. Ruby opened her eyes and touched her pendant once more, feeling a wave of confidence sweep through her soul.

"The man you seek is Bartholomew Oobleck," Qrow said, "He is a very secretive and swift man, so catching him may be hard once you reach Ironwood's faction."

"Got it," Ruby said, "So, we find this place by traveling down the eastern trade route?"  
"Yep."  
"How do you know that all this dust stuff is real?" Yang asked, "I mean, all these legends, these stories, how do we know if they aren't just byproducts of someone's imagination?"  
"Because history sources like this do not lie, Yang," Qrow said sternly, "They are the only connections we have to keep us from repeating past mistakes. This diary did not perish in that war for a reason, and that is to help us today. You must stop denying the facts and help Ruby and Weiss get to Everus. It may not be what you or your parents had in mind, but it is what must happen. Remnant depends on it."

"So...the world's fate is in the hands of three girls who don't know what the heck they're doing?" Weiss scowled, "It's official: I've lost my mind."

"No, it's rather more like the lady of fate has lost her mind," Qrow said, "She is the one who makes all your destinies, and she is the one who will decide if you reach Everus or not."

"Well, I guess this is-" Weiss stopped as Yang put her hand on her shoulder.

"Number one rule of leaving," Yang said in an unusually somber voice, "Never say goodbye. Just say...see you another time." Weiss stared at her strangely, but decided to take her advice.  
"Oh, please powerful lady of fate," Ruby whispered to herself, "Please let us not die, and be able to defeat bad guys, and go on adventures, and let me get to try cake for the first time." With her prayer done, Ruby hugged Qrow, "See you soon, again."

"You too," Qrow said softly, and pulled back. Ruby hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder and started to walk down the dusty path in the opposite direction of where Roman had come from. Weiss followed, then Yang, though the latter looked back a couple of times. Qrow kept his face emotionless as the three girls soon exited Signal. As his two girls left home for the first time. A deep, wrenching feeling emancipated in his mind, one that reminded him of the promise he made to Summer before she left.

"Don't let them know," She had said, "Don't let Taiyang know. Give this to Ruby when the time is right."

He had told her it was too risky, too dangerous, but Summer was stubborn, and now the only hope for her survival was the gleaming gray gem that was now on a fifteen year old's chest. The only way for Summer to come back alive.

As the gem was a tracking device, linked to Ruby's mom by the blood inside.

* * *

Please leave a like and a review. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, and I hope to see you all soon!


	6. Chapter 6: The Invincible Thief Part 1

A/N: Hello Shadows (As that is what I shall call you guys now). Please leave a like and review. I decided to post this today because A. I was really, really inspired this week, and B. I don't know if I'll be able to update next week as I'll be super busy with school. With that said, here's Chapter 6!

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Invincible Thief Part 1**

_**My mom always says, friends are strangers you haven't met yet**_

**Near Seven Years Ago**

_ "Hey, please wait up!" Jaune struggled to control his horse as he rode down the steep hill. King John stopped his steed and chuckled lightly as he watched his ten year old son's antics. It was one of those days, when the sun was shining, no death threats from the White Serfs came in the mail, and a feeling of optimism hung in the air. Jaune and his father had just returned from a long horseback ride, one which consisted of many bruises and cuts, and were heading back to the Arc Castle. Unfortunately, Jaune's horse was in a mood, and refused to let his owner handle him well._

_ "Ack!" Jaune yelped, and he fell onto the ground. King John raced over, but the prince was already up and smiling._

_ "Are you alright?" John asked._

_ "Yes," His son answered, "Matthias doesn't like me today." The young boy stuck his tongue out at his unruly animal._

_ "Maybe he's just been having a bad day," King John laughed, and playfully narrowed his eyes at the horse, who, in return, neighed and turned around, "Yep, definitely just a bad day."_

_ "Are we almost home?" Jaune asked._

_ "I suppose so," The king lifted his son up and back onto Matthias's saddle, "We shouldn't be too far."_

_ "Is Weiss coming soon?" Jaune asked._

_ "No, her family has been having a few...problems, lately. So they may be late."_

_ "Oh, too bad," Jaune tried to hide the joy in his voice, but his father could tell that his son was happy at the news._

_ "Now, Jaune, don't be like that."_

_ "If looks could kill I'd be dead by now," The prince muttered._

_ "Hah, well, I don't doubt it. But, you never know, your mother was like that the first time I met her," King John spotted his castle in the distance._

_ "Really?" His son said, trying to imagine his mother ever being mean._

_ "Oh, yes. I accidentally made a sexist comment to her and she ended up pinning me to the castle walls with her spear. Lesson of the day: Don't make gender insults to woman." The two stopped their horses._

_ "How do I get her to like me?" Jaune asked._

_ "Well..." John waved his hand to signal the guards to let down the drawbridge, "I suppose that what every lady likes is confidence."  
_

_"Confidence?"_

_ "Yes, confidence. An utmost skill in talking, fighting, and basically just being sure of who you are."  
_

_"Who I am..." Jaune mused, "And that will help me when Weiss is trying to drown me in the moat?"_

_ "Yes, I-wait she did-?"  
_

_"John!" Queen Alsea's shouts stopped the king from finishing. He saw his wife on her horse hurrying towards them._

_ "Alsea, what's wrong?" John asked. _

_ "Ozpin. He's here. And he has-" She glanced at her son, who was preoccupied with a butterfly that had just landed on his shoulder, "...news."  
_

_ "Oh," John sighed. News was never good, at least when it came from his old friend, "Well, Jaune, why don't you go with your mother-"_

_ "Actually, Ozpin requested to see Jaune as well," Alsea said._

_ "Is that the wizard guy?" Jaune asked._

_ "Yes, it's the wizard guy," Alsea laughed, "But his name is Ozpin, and I expect you to be polite."  
_

_"Yes, mother," Jaune groaned._

_ "Ugh, he's becoming like you by the minute," Alsea said to John, who gave her an innocent stare._

_ "Is that a bad thing?" Her husband asked, and the two burst out laughing._

_ "What's so funny?" Jaune asked._

_ "Nothing dear, nothing."  
_

* * *

_John and his family entered the great garden where Ozpin was supposedly waiting for them. A slight breeze blew by and Jaune shivered. Alsea had created the garden over ten years ago, a gift, she said, to her upcoming first child. The place was a spectacular sight, with blooming blossoms, roses, and tulips outlining the area. No red trees, she had said, as there's enough of those outside._

_ "Ozpin!" John suddenly exclaimed as he laid eyes on his old companion. His son cautiously peeked out from behind his mother's back. A man with silver hair and odd green clothing was standing casually in the center of the garden epicenter._

_ "King John," The man named Ozpin bowed in respect. The two shared a brief handshake before going straight to business._

_ "So what are you doing here?" John inquired._

_ "I have come with unfortunate news," Ozpin said, and looked at Jaune, "Oh, but you must be Jaune."  
_

_"Hello magic man," Jaune mumbled, causing the wizard to smile._

_ "Hmm, I could get used to that name," Ozpin joked, "But in all seriousness though, I believe that we must discuss these recent events by ourselves."_

_ "Oh, of course, if you-"_

_ "Who's that?" Jaune questioned, and the king and queen looked over to what he was looking at. A young boy, probably about Jaune's age, was standing there with a lotus flower in his hand. He had raven-black hair and looked extremely uncomfortable._

_ "Now, Jaune, be polite," Alsea said sternly. The mysterious boy stared down at the ground._

_ "Ozpin, what is the meaning of this?" John asked._

_ "He, my dear friend, is why I am here," Ozpin turned around and made a 'come' sign with his coffee cup, "But we must talk about that in private." King John merely frowned, but followed the sage into the Arc Castle, leaving Alsea, the boy, and Jaune as they stood in silence._

_ "Well," Alsea leaned down and whispered in her son's ear, "Say hello."  
_

_"But what if he's mean?" Jaune whispered back._

_ "Well. You never know. Sometimes strangers are just friends you haven't met yet."  
_

_"Really?"  
_

_"Really, now, go on!" Alsea softly pushed Jaune towards the boy, who was now staring at them with curios magenta eyes._

_ "Um..." Jaune played with his fingers as he approached the boy, "I'm Jaune!" He held out his hand._

_ "I'm Lie Ren," The boy named Lie Ren stated, and they shook._

_ "Nice to meet you, Lie."  
_

_"Actually, it's Ren."  
_

_"So why isn't your first name first?" Jaune asked._

_ "Some people just do that, sweetie," Her mother informed, "It's part of their culture."  
_

_"Oh," The blond haired boy suddenly perked up and grabbed Ren's hands, "I've never had a playmate before. You want to see my swords and stuff?"  
_

_"Now, Jaune, be careful-"  
_

_"No, it's alright," Ren said calmly, "Sure, Prince Jaune, I'll see your things."  
_

_"Yes!" Jaune said, "But it's Jaune, not Prince Jaune. That sounds too fancy."_

_ "Oh, okay." The two raced past Alsea and into the Arc Castle, where Ozpin and John soon emerged._

_ "So, I'm guessing that they're okay with one another?" The king said, happy that his son had a new friend._

_ "It would seem so," Alsea said, "But why is he here?"_

_ "An emergency, you might say," Ozpin stated, "And I have been bound by oath not to tell anyone until the time is right."  
_

_"He's right, he didn't even crack under me," John stated in a half-serious manner._

_ "All you need to know is to keep him safe," Ozpin said, "And to also keep this-" He brought out a light green dust crystal._

_ "Is this...dust?" Alsea asked in disbelief._

_ "It's not just dust. It's one of the Statera crystals, and let's just say someone was after it."_

_ "And we have to keep him safe, along with this?"  
_

_"Yes. No one knows that he or this crystal, is here, and I doubt they ever will."  
_

_"Ozpin, are you sure about this?" John asked._

_ "You are the one I trust most," Ozpin said in a serious tone, "And I know that Ren will be safe here. He'll go under the title of a servant here, and hopefully become friends with Jaune."  
_

_"What about his family?" Alsea asked._

_ "We don't need to worry about them," John said sadly._

_ "Oh..."  
_

_"Alsea, I know that this is a big change, but we have to do this. They can't find Ren, at least, not yet." Alsea gave a grim smile, and was about to speak, but the sudden sound of a cannonball firing caused her blood to go cold._

_ "Did Jaune just-"_

_ "Yep."  
_

_"And did it just-"  
_

_"Yes, dear," John sighed._

_ "JAUNE JOAN ARC YOU ARE IN HUGE TROUBLE!" Alsea stormed into the Arc Castle, her face red with fury. Ozpin handed the Statera crystal to John, a hint of amusement on his face and a question on his mind._

_ "His middle name is Joan?"_

* * *

**Present Time**

**Where: Somewhere, that's Where**

Ren slowly opened his eyes, the golden rays of sunlight almost blinding him. A sharp pain erupted in his head as he regained his thoughts, and the faint smell of sweat filled the air.

Oh, and he was tied upside down with a bunch of ropes around his body. The raven-haired boy was almost never was surprised, but this? This was new to him. Trying to make sense of the topsy-turvy world, he blinked a few times and studied his surroundings. The time looked to be mid-afternoon, or later, and he seemed to be in what was in a small, makeshift camp. Where in the world was-

"Hey...Ren," A voice said from Ren's left. The magenta eyed boy sighed deeply, and reluctantly looked to his side.

Jaune, his closest companion and best friend for over ten years, was also hanging upside down from a tree.

And, although Ren would deny it if you asked him, he wanted to smack the blond so hard that he would fall down.

"...Prince Jaune?" Ren asked.

"...Yes, Ren?" Jaune said, his voice monotone.

"Why are we upside down?"

"How's your shoulder?" Jaune asked. Ren remembered that he had gotten shot.

"Don't change the subject. Why are we hanging loosely from a tree?"

"Oh, er, about that...I sort of managed to get us out alive. Well, actually someone helped me. I think her name was Blake-"

"Prince Jaune, please get to the point."

"Oh, yeah, sorry. But anyways, we escaped, but I ended up getting caught by a bunch of bandits and, because I'm an

Arc, they're holding me like this until they get money or something. Which, of course, is useless because..." Jaune trailed off.

"Prince Jaune-"

"It's fine, Ren."

"-I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Jaune asked, trying not to let his tone sound too bitter. The two hung in silence for a while.

"So...where are we exactly?" Ren changed the subject.

"Um...near Mistral, I think?" Jaune said.

"Okay...that's not bad."

"What do you mean?"

"Mistrals an ally of Vale, right?"

"Yes."

"Then we ask for help from King Nikos."

"Oh yeah, that sounds like a good plan. But..." Jaune swung from side to side to show his point, "We're sort of..."

"Stuck?" Ren sighed, then froze, a feeling of dread filling his mind. He tried to move his hands to see if his crystal was still with him, "Where's the dust?"

"Uh...it might have gotten taken."

"WHAT!?" The usually calm boy yelled, causing some birds in the trees to fly away.

"I-it wasn't my fault!" Jaune cried, "W-we were being attacked, and they hit me, and then they took our stuff, and then-"

"Prince Jaune, you have no idea how powerful that dust is!" Ren said.

"Uh..."

"When did they leave this place?"

"About a hour ago, but they said they were coming back."

"Joy, but do they have the dust crystal?"

"I don't know, I was blacked out a bit too when they tied me up here."

"Okay, okay, okay," Ren was trying to formulate a plan in his head, "I think that if we can just get out of these ropes we can figure out something."

"How are we going to do that, though?" Jaune inquired.

"Give me a second, please," Ren closed his eyes and tried to move his hands so that his bare skin was touching the ropes. A faint glow of pink spread through his bonds, and a loud _crack _soared through the air as he fell down to the ground. He stood up and brushed his sleeves to get the muck off.

"How the bloody hell did you-"

"Prince Jaune, please be quiet," Ren said flatly, and went over to untie his friend. The blond fell face first into the rocky earth, and spat out dirt.

"Bleh, note to self, do not eat the ground," Jaune muttered.

"Everyone knows that," Ren said, and helped Jaune up. The two looked around the camp for anything useful. The bandits, Ren could tell, were smart, as they didn't leave much behind. Hopefully though, they would return so that he could give them a piece of his mind. A smoldering fire was located in the center of the camp, next to it being a couple of bags and bowls. Ren opened the bags and saw that they were half-filled with food and supplies.

"The bandits are probably going to come back, seeing as these bags are here."

"Well, we can't just downright attack them," Jaune stated smartly, "And they didn't leave their weapons here. Maybe we should just try and escape with our lives."

"No," Ren said firmly, "We have to get that dust."

"What's so important about that anyways?" Jaune asked, feeling a bit annoyed that Ren was keeping secrets from him, "I mean, I know it's dust, for Remnant's sake, but is it really worth risking our lives? And what about what happened at the castle? Would you please explain that!?"

"Yes, no, and no," Ren said bluntly, "But...do you trust me, Prince Jaune?"

"What?"

"You heard me, so do you or not?"

"O-of course I trust you…and don't call me that!"

"Then keep that trust inside you," Ren heaved one bag over his shoulder and tossed the other to Jaune, "Because we're catching those bandits."

* * *

The sound of ruffling leaves sent chills down Jaune's spine as he crouched on a branch. The sun was starting to go down and the cool night air was settling in. The prince glanced at his friend waiting patiently in the trees, green shirt still strained a crimson color from the injury he sustained at the Arc Castle.

_What the hell is going on, Ren? _Jaune wondered to himself. _And why won't you tell me? _The distant sounds of footsteps approaching the area, however, snapped the blond out his thoughts and he peered below. The noise grew louder, and soon was replaced by the sounds of a few people talking to one another.

"You are such a git," one of them, a female, said, her voice sounding like a girl, "Can't even bloody talk right to a king."

"It's not my fault that he can order my head on a platter if he feels like it," Another one complained. His voice sounded much deeper and more developed.

"Again. You. Are. A. Git," Her laughter was followed by the sound of a punch, "Ow!"

"Stop arguing, you two," Another voice said, this one sounding like the first "We have a prince to deal with." Jaune saw a girl with silky black hair and jade green eyes enter the campsite. Behind her, two people who looked like her sister and father entered as well. The tall man was holding a gleaming sword.

A sword that Jaune had seen before.

_That's mine, _He thought. The only remnant of his family, and he wasn't leaving without it.

"Hey!" One of them with dark hair grabbed the broken ropes off the ground, "They escaped!"

"What!?" The one who had spoken second ran over and scowled, "Great, just bloody great. How are we supposed to get a decent price off of them now?"

"Belt it, will you?" The last one said. Out of the corner of his eye, Jaune saw Ren's hands glow a soft pink. Both of them took a deep breath and prepared to fight.

"Well, what are we supposed to do, Militia?" The first one argued, "Just sit here? They even took some of our supplies!"

"We go out looking for them, Melanie, that's what," The last one named Militia stated, "And if not, then there's always a few associates of Cinder who may need some guidance.

'Who's Cinder?' Ren mouthed to Jaune, who merely shrugged. It didn't matter, anyways. As long as they got back the dust and the sword, everything would work out fine.

'When do we attack?' Jaune mouthed back.

'Now.' Ren's aura blasted through the air and towards Melanie's face. He watched as her expression turned to shock as the pink ray of light hit her squarely in the jaw. She flew backwards and into a nearby tree.

_Oh hell, _Jaune watched as Ren jumped down, making sure to land on his feet properly. The prince carefully let go of the branch and tried to slip down the tree in a more orderly fashion.

Orderly fashion+Jaune, however, does not compute.

_Thud._

"Ow..." Jaune fell onto the ground, again, and rubbed his head. He heard Ren sigh and stood up.

The tall man took tightened his grip on Jaune's sword and began to attack.

_We are so done for. _Without having time to process what was going on, Militia lunged forwards, two red daggers aiming for his heart. Jaune dodged to the left and curved around the tree just before the girl stabbed his flesh.

"Violent, much?" He said.

"Sorry," The girl batted her eyelashes. Jaune gulped, quickly grabbed a sharp rock on the ground, and started running for his dear life.

Meanwhile, Ren was having trouble on his own. He created a small field of aura around his body so that the man would have trouble dealing massive damage. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jaune struggling to fend off the crazed, red clad girl.

"Where's the crystal?" Ren asked, and blocked an attack using his aura.

"Why should I tell you?"

"Hmm..." Ren flipped back and shot a blast of aura into the man's hand, causing him to drop the weapon, "Maybe that's why."

"Ack!" Jaune ran into the clearing again, Melanie right behind him. Ren sighed and a pink color emitted from the ground under Melanie. He flicked his hand up and the girl was flung upwards into the tree, where she hit her head and fell back down next to Jaune. The blond then threw his rock at the tall man and hit him squarely in chest. He stumbled back and Ren dashed forwards, grabbing Jaune's sword from under him, and swiped it cleanly against the opponent's chest. Ren winced as the man's shirt became a dark red before he fell down. Behind him he heard Milita moan in pain.

"So...that happened," Jaune said, trying to lighten the mood. He glanced two girls who were starting to wake up, "What should we do with them?" Ren glanced at the ropes, an idea coming to mind.

"Tie them up."

* * *

"Are you sure we're going to get answers?" Jaune asked.

"Positive," His friend said, and watched as the two girl's eyes opened up. A mix of confusion, then rage, spread across their faces.

"Where are we?" Militia demanded to know.

"We are currently in your campsite," Ren said, his voice cold, "And we would like some answers, if you don't mind."

"No way in Remnant are we going to tell you anything," Melanie said firmly.

"We're not going to hurt you," Jaune said, "We just need to know where the Green Dust Crystal is."

"And what do we get if we tell you?"

"Well, for one thing, those ropes are aura bound, which means that they're going to be very, very hard to get out of. So, A. We can leave you here to possibly never escape, or B. You tell us where the crystal is and we'll let you go and part ways."

"Hmm..." Melanie said, her head cocking to one side.

"How..." Her sister continued.

"About-"

"NO!" They both scowled and glared at the two boys.

"Woman," Jaune said, clearly exasperated. Ren sighed and tried to think of another way to get the girls talking.

"Prince Jaune," He suddenly said.

"Yeah?"

"Are you a good woman talker?"

"What the hell, Ren."

"No. I mean. Do to them whatever you do to make Weiss turn away from you."

"What?!"

"Act like you're trying to get her to like you."

"And how is this supposed to-"

"For Remnant's sake, Prince Jaune. Just goddamn do it."

"...Fine, but don't call me that!" Jaune cleared his throat and knelt down at Militia's feet. Summoning all the catchy lines his father taught him.

"Uh, what is he-"

"Hey, sweetheart," It took all of Jaune's courage to get the words out, "Did you come straight from hell, because your smoking-"

"Ew, ew, ew!" Militia turned away and made a gagging noise, "Alright, alright, I'll talk. I'll. Will. Talk!"

"Thank you," Ren said politely.

"Pretty good, huh?" Jaune said.

"Do you really talk to Weiss like that?"

"Well, not that exact phrases but I use her icy personality and stuff for my phrases."

"That's...wonderful," Ren said flatly, "Now, where is the dust crystal?"

"While we were gone, we came across the King and he noticed the crystal," Militia said.

"He wanted to buy it, as he thought it would make a good gift for his daughter, and, of course, we had to give it to him."

"So it's with the King of Mistral," Jaune said.

"Do you know where they are now?" Ren questioned.

"They were planning to go back to their castle, from what I last heard," Militia said, "Now, can we please go?"

"Promise not to try and kill us?" Ren asked.

"Not you. But I'm having doubts about whether or not to slit his throat open," She pointed to Jaune.

"Hmm...alright then," Ren untied the ropes and the two sisters stood up.

"Please don't kill me," Jaune squeaked. They merely rolled their eyes, Militia's more like a half-glare, and disappeared into the forest.

"So, what do we do now?" Jaune said.

"What we can do," Ren said simply, "Head to Mistral and see if King Nikos will help us out or not."

"We may need to get some supplies though," Jaune said, "We can stop at the local town and see if they have anything we can buy."

"Sure, I guess."

"You okay, Ren?" Jaune inquired. His friend had seemed troubled lately, "You seem...not okay."

"I'm fine, Jaune," Ren said, and started to tread into the dark forest. Jaune reluctantly followed, not wanting to pry on Ren's secretive life, but something just felt...amiss.

_He didn't call me Prince Jaune_

* * *

It was dawn when the two finally took a long rest. A very long rest, to be more specific. Jaune had no idea how Ren could keep his energy up, let alone trek for bloody seven hours near straight. By the time they were done, and when Ren had said, "Alright, let's rest," The prince had already fell onto the grassy ground and fallen asleep.

He dreamed of home. Of his parents, more specifically, the fact that he never really got to say goodbye. He didn't even get to see his father when he died. Weiss was even in his dreams, not because of love, but because of the fact he was supposed to protect her. To protect everyone. He was a prince, and a prince wasn't supposed to fail.

So...why did he? Maybe he wasn't a prince, maybe he was just destined to be a failure. That's what Weiss saw him as, that's what everyone saw him as at one point in his life, even the ones closest to him.

Jaune needed to find Weiss, he needed to find help so that his country, and Atlas could function once more. Now he understood why Weiss was so worked up about a stupid ball, because it was more than just dancing, it was showing that your the country you would lead one day depended on you.

_You're never going to be a prince, _his mind whispered over and over again. But Jaune knew that it wasn't his decision whether or not saving the world. Sure, he could run off, start a goat farm for Remnant's sake, but that meant that he would give up without even trying.

And Jaune was definitely not doing that.

* * *

**Mistral**

"So, where are we again?" Ren asked. The two were strolling down the streets of large town in Mistral. They had gotten a few collective looks, no doubt because of that fact Jaune was a prince, but so far so good.

"We're in Megara," Jaune informed, remembering his boring history lessons. Mistral was a very traditional and Greek-like country, where they valued both war and the arts. Vale was on friendly terms with the place, so hopefully that would come in handy when he met the king. Jaune, however, didn't actually know what the royal family was like, as they liked to live a quiet life by themselves. The towns were definitely different, with tall structures made of wood and stone. The streets were filled with peddlers and musicians hoping to make a penny or more, and a few Mistral Soldiers were patrolling the area.

"So, we have a sword for you, but I need some weapons, as my aura isn't going to help in the future that much."  
"By the way," Jaune said as they maneuvered around a horse-drawn cart, "Why did you never tell me about your aura?"  
"Oh, well...I always assumed that it didn't really matter."

"Uh-huh," Jaune said, but didn't pry and further.

"Anyways," Ren said, trying to change the subject, "Do you actually think that your title will be able to get us some supplies?"

"It's worth a try," Jaune said, "But I've never been to Mistral, so these people may not know me."

"Word of the Arc Castle siege has probably reached this country, though," Ren muttered, "So we have to be careful."  
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Jaune sighed. Suddenly, the sound of heavy marching echoed through the air, and he could see that the crowd was starting to part. A golden carriage, surrounded by soldiers, clattered against the cobblestone street and Jaune recognized it as the king's own vehicle.

"That's him," He whispered to Ren, who only nodded, "Now's our chance!"

"I doubt that just running up and demanding help isn't going to do anything," The black haired boy said wisely, "Besides, he's protected by guards."

"Then what do you plan to do?" Jaune scowled.

"I don't know, give me a second," Ren mumbled. He could use his aura to try and 'accidentally' stop the carriage, but soldiers were trained to notice the most suspicious movement.

_Damn, if only-_

"Look out!" A voice rang out, and a blur of red and gold appeared in Ren's peripheral vision before disappearing in a flash. The soldiers drew out their swords and circled the carriage in a protective fashion. Ren could make out a swift figure hopping from rooftop to rooftop, his whole body covered by a bronze colored cloak. Suddenly, the person flew into the air and onto the carriage. With a flick of his wrist the soldier's swords were tossed upwards and onwards into the distance. His arms seemed to dance as he continued to cause mayhem.

_CRASH_. The blacksmith shop's whole display case was destroyed as weapons and pieces of sharp metal came flying out. The dangerous swords pierced the guards' armor and some fell down, dead, their cheery red blood squirting out of their wounds like a fountain. Sounds of screaming and yelling erupted into his ears as the villagers tried to get away from the chaos. A sharp crack of glass breaking emancipated behind Ren and he turned around to see a window starting to fall apart as dozens of swords piling against the side.

"Jaune get-!"

_CRACK. _Ren didn't have time to finish his warning. The magenta eyed boy pulled his friend down as the shop's swords began to fly out. Ren watched as the carriage was pummeled in an array of pointy weaponry. Shards of glass fell onto his face and he scowled. Suddenly, Jaune shook Ren's shoulder and the latter stood up. Jaune noticed a figure in a bronze hood jump onto the carriage and hover her/his hands. The metal then ripped apart and the thief dropped down.

_What in the name of Remnant? _He watched as the hooded person soon reemerge, arms full of sacks of gold.

Gold...and a shining green crystal that seemed to bore into Jaune's soul.

"Uh, Ren, he has the-" but the raven-haired boy was already running down an alleyway, aura firing at the thief. Jaune quickly followed and the two could see the mysterious person jump from roof to roof in an elegant manner. His bronze cloak shrouded his face and his gleaming gold armor reflected the sunlight every which way. Jaune spotted a ladder on the side of a house and an idea formed in his mind. Without hesitating, he grabbed onto the bars and hoisted himself up onto the top of the building.

Feet sprinting furiously, the prince raced after the thief and jumped over a few large gaps. Ren's aura soared through the air, his aim managing to hit the person in the head several times, but nothing happened, the person didn't even flinch.

It was like he was...invincible. Jaune watched as the thief turned to the left and started a mad dash towards another narrow alleyway.

_Oh you are not getting away from me, _the prince thought, and ran as fast as he could towards the annoying man. Suddenly, Ren's aura glided through the air and smacked the thief right in the ankle, causing him-no...her, definitely a her now, to cry in pain. She fell off the roof and out of sight. Jaune peered over the edge and saw that the girl had fallen into a crate of vegetables, her hood partially pulled back to reveal a shiny headpiece of pure gold, and he tried to get a glimpse of her face.

"Prince Jaune!" A voice called out, and Jaune glanced to the left to see Ren running down the alleyway. The thief scowled, and pushed herself out of the crate before starting to get away. Jaune leaped off the roof, teeth grit, and reached out his hand, determined to grab onto her cloak. Time seemed to slow down as his fingers fingered her crimson hair, as his hand circled around the yellow crown in on her head.

The crown's chain went around Jaune's finger and pulled the headpiece off. The girl flinched and kicked her leg back into Jaune's gut, causing the prince to fly into the crate she had just come out of. His head smacked into the side and his vision blurred.

"Prince Jaune!" Ren cried, and the blond blinked his eyes to try and clear his mind. Two hands entered his sight and grabbed Jaune's wrist before pulling him up with a jerky tug, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Jaune assured, vaguely realizing the piece of metal starting to imprint his palm. He opened up his hand and stared at the only remnant of the thief's identity, "Where is she?"

"I don't know," Ren sighed, the frustration evident in his voice, "She got away."

"I'm...sorry," Jaune said, and held up the headpiece, "But I grabbed this."

"Hmm," Ren said, and studied the jewelry, "This...isn't something that belong to a peasant, nor a regular thief."

"Wonder why she has it," Jaune said.

"Probably because she stole it."

"Huh?"

"Look, right here," Ren pointed to the edge of one of the crown's sides, revealing a small, red tipped spear head, "It's most likely the Mistral Family's Crest."

"Crest?"

"You know, like the arcs on your old shield."

"Oh, yeah," Jaune vaguely remembered his shield that was left behind in the castle siege, "Add a shield to the list of things we need to get."

"What?"

"Never mind," Jaune took back the headpiece, "So, what should we do now?"

"What can we do, is what you should be asking," Ren said, and kicked some dirt up in a rather uncharacteristic way, "Remnant, I can't believe that it's gone."

"You know, I would feel a lot more sympathetic if I actually knew what in the world is special about this piece of dust!" Jaune yelled.

"It's a Statera Crystal!" Ren explained, more like shouted, "And I was supposed to keep it safe."

"A what?! Ren, you're not making any-"

"FREEZE!" Jaune's body tensed up and his head swerved around to see two guards pointing their weapons at the two sojourners. Ren's hands instantly emitted a pink glow, but Jaune stopped him from firing his aura.

"We can't just go blasting everyone we see," The prince said dryly, and Ren scowled, but held up his palms in a surrendering position.

"Well, I would like to hear your plan, Prince Jaune," Ren said.

"Fine. We have these guards take us to King Nikos, and then we ask him for help in getting Weiss back."

"...that's actually not a bad idea. But how do we know these guys will take us to King Nikos?"

"Easy, Ren. I'm a bloody prince. I'm sure that I'll be able to get us to the king."

"State your business," One of the soldiers called out.

"Uh...we're from Vale."

"Smooth, Prince Jaune," Ren smirked.

"Shut it," Jaune muttered. The two soldiers walked towards him, making sure to keep their swords out and ready.

"Why are you here?" The other asked.

"To see King of Mistral," Jaune stated simply.

"And for what purpose?"

"We need help. I'm Prince Jaune."

The air went silent.

1.

2.

3.

"Hah!" One of the guards burst out laughing, his face lighting up in a big smile, "You?! You're the famous Prince Jaune."

"I'm famous?" Jaune said, and Ren facepalmed himself.

"He's being serious," The raven-haired boy said flatly.

"Yeah, right," The soldier said, "And we're to believe a servant boy." Ren's fists tightened and his scowl deepened.

"I'm speaking the-"

"Michael, listen to this guy!" The other soldier grabbed Jaune's right arm and waved it around, "I thought that Prince Jaune would be a bit stronger, don't you think?"

"Pfft, please. He wouldn't pass for a prince even if his life depending on it," The guard named Michael said.

"We want the truth," The first soldier said, his voice now serious, "You aren't from around here, so why-"

"Hey!" Michael exclaimed, and snagged the crown out of Jaune's hand, "Look at this!"

"Give that back!" Jaune said sharply, and tried to reach for the headpiece, but the soldier held it up in a taunting manner.

"I think we have a thief."

Oh crap. Jaune froze and looked at Ren for help. His friend gave him a 'now do you want me to blast these guys' glare.

"A thief, eh?" The other soldier mused, and pointed his weapon at Jaune's chest, "You're going to have to come with us."

"Um...do we have to?" Jaune asked in an innocent voice.

"Uh, yeah. It's the law," The first guard stated in an annoyed tone.

"Listen," Ren said, "I'm sure we can just work this out. This has been a big misunderstanding and if you give us the chance then we can explain everything. But, you see, we're kind of in a hurry as we need to get the king."

"And why's that?"

"Because the world is in danger and he's the only one that can help us," Ren stated.

"Oh please, we're in a time of peace," The soldier chortled, "And even if the world was in danger, how would two nobodies fix everything?"

Ren and Jaune glanced at each other, expecting a respond, maybe even a counterargument to strike against the rude soldier's remark, but they stayed silent. A horrible, earth-shattering silence that made them realize something.

They had no idea what to do. Had no idea if King Nikos would even listen to their warnings of the White Serfs. In fact, they didn't even know if Weiss was still alive. Ren and Jaune were just trying to get by, were just trying to keep themselves going forwards. But what were they going to do? What if the king didn't even give them a passing glance?

Then what? Then what would happen?

"That's what I thought," The soldier said, satisfied at the two's inability to reply. The hilt of his sword came closer to Jaune's neck and he smirked, "You're coming with us, whoever the hell you guys are."_  
_

* * *

Ren was getting tired of being knocked out. A. Because it hurt like hell. And B. Because it meant that he had no idea what was going on in reality.

And, like Jaune, he dreamed. His dreams were a lot more different than others. More vivid, more...memory like.

_He was in the Arc Castle, right after Jaune decided to make him his best friend and show him around the place. Ozpin was gone, which Ren didn't like, but at least the prince was nice._

_"So, here's the horse stables!" A ten year old Jaune exclaimed, and opened up the dirty stall. The stench of manure and hay filled Ren's nose, causing him gag._

_"It smells..." He tried to find a word._

_"Disgusting? Yeah, I know," Jaune laughed, and Ren cracked a smile. The two boys strolled into the stables and Jaune stopped him at one room._

_"This is Matthias," Jaune stated, and pulled up a wooden stool for the two of them to stand upon. Ren peered over the edge of the room door and saw a beautiful white horse staring back at him. He immediately jumped down and ran away. Jaune's face turned to confusion and he carefully remembered his mother's words._

_He's not used to the way we do things, She had told him the night Ren was officially slated to stay, But that doesn't mean you can't be friends. He just needs time to adjust, that's all._

_"What's wrong?" Jaune asked his new friend. Ren only shrugged, "Matthias isn't scary, I promise."_

_"Horses aren't my favorite," Ren stated the obvious, "I've never seen one so up close before."_

_"Well, the only bad thing he's ever down is let me fall of his saddle," Jaune joked, causing Ren's eyes to grow wide, __"No, no! That's not a bad thing. He was just in a bad mood."_

_"Oh..." Ren said, but took a step towards the exit door. Jaune rolled his eyes and grabbed the magenta eyed boy's wrist, "What are you-"_

_"Trust me," Jaune said, and opened Matthias's stall door. The horse, thankful for being let out of his jail-cell, lowered his head to allow his owner to stroke his head._

_"What is he doing?" Ren asked._

_"He's allowing us to pet him," Jaune answered, and held out Ren's hand, forcing the latter to rub against the soft fur, __"See, he's not scary."_

_"Yeah, I guess..." Ren tried to pretend he still didn't like the horse, but Jaune could tell that his friend was starting to warm up to Matthias, "So, do you know how to ride one?"_

_"My father's been helping me learn the ropes," Jaune said, "Right before you came he took me out on a horseback riding trip."_

_"That sounds fun," Ren said wistfully._

_"You should come with us sometime," Jaune suggested._

_"No, it's okay. I'd rather stay inside, anyways."_

_"Oh, well, if you say so..." Jaune suddenly perked up, "Hey...do you think you can tell me about where you're from?"_

_"Um..."_

_"You don't have to," Jaune quickly said, "I was just curious."_

_"Well, I was born in a country far away from here," Ren stated, and grinned a little, "Where I come from, things are a lot different there than here."_

_"Does it have red trees?"_

_"Nope. But it is active with flora and fauna."_

_"What?"_

_"Plants and animals, Prince Jaune. My home is full of them, sort of like your mother's garden."_

_"What did you like most about your old home?"_

_Ren frowned, and pondered his friend's question for quite a while._

_"Lotus flowers," He finally said in a firm voice._

_"Is that the flower you had in your hand when you got here?"_

_"Yes," Ren said sadly._

_"Why do you like them?"_

_"They remind me of my family. Of my country." Jaune could see that Ren didn't want to talk about his past anymore, and let it drop. The two put Matthias back into his stall and made sure to lock the stable gates as they went out._

_"So, what do you want to do now?" Jaune asked._

_"Now that you've mentioned it, I need to check on my flower," Ren said. Jaune vaguely remembered Ren telling him that he put planted the flower in his mother's garden._

_"Can I help you?" Jaune asked._

_"Sure, why not?"_

_"I bet I can beat you there!" Jaune took off running._

_"Hey!" Ren shouted, and quickly followed Jaune towards the courtyard, "No fair!"_

_"One of my dad's rules is 'expect the unexpected." Jaune yelled back._

_"Expect the unexpected," Ren mumbled. He would make sure to remember that._

* * *

"Hey, Ren, are you awake?"

What the? Ren's eyes snapped open and he sat up immediately. Looking around the room, he saw that he was a small cell area.

"Ren?" Ren turned to the voice, which belonged to Jaune, and scowled.

"What?" He snapped, causing his friend to purse his lips.

"Well, that answers my question," Jaune grabbed a rock and played with it.

"...sorry," Ren muttered, "Where are we?"

"Some sort of jail place," Jaune said, and tossed the rock up and down into the air.

"How long have I been out?"

"About an hour, not that long."

"Do you have any idea what to do?"

"Nope."

_CLICK. _Ren and Jaune turned their heads to see the cell door open up. A man with jet black hair, dark eyes, and an arrogant look on his face entered the room. His bronze and red armor indicated that he was a high-ranked militia officer.

"So," He said, "You are supposed to be 'Prince Jaune'."

"Who are you?" Ren asked.

"I believed I was talking to _him_," The man sneered, causing Ren to scowl.

"Well, I truly am Prince Jaune," Jaune said.

"No, I believe you. The sword you had in your hand had the Arc Crest located on the handle. And the material it was made out of indicated that you were royal blood."

"Oh, thank Remnant," Jaune muttered, happy that the general believed him, "But...who are you?"

"I am General Nyx," The man stated, and held out his hand. Jaune swiftly shook it and forced a smile, "And I am also very sorry that my men treated you so poorly."

"No, it's fine," Jaune said.

"Easy for you to say," Ren mumbled, "You're neck isn't on fire..."

"Anyways," Jaune said before Ren could continue, "We were wondering if we could talk to the king."

"Why on Remnant would you want to do that?" Nyx asked.

"Well, I suspected that the Arc Castle Siege sort of reached this area by now."

"Oh, yes. Quite unfortunate. But that still that answer my question."

"You see, we need help from King Nikos because Vale is allied with Mistral. My...fiancé was kidnapped by the White Serfs and I was hoping he could help us get her back, as she's probably now the leader of Atlas."

Nyx stayed silent for a moment, going over Jaune's supposed story.

"Well," He started, "I believe that your journey has been in vain."

"What!" Ren jumped up.

"I'm with him," Jaune said, "WHAT!?"

"I am afraid that King Nikos has not been able to meet any new people, despite their title, as he has been very busy dealing with other important issues."

"In case you didn't hear, the bloody princess of Atlas is_ missing,_" Ren snarled. He was fed up with what had happened in the past week, what had happened to him in general.

"I knew what happened," Nyx said cooly, "But you didn't let me finish." Ren crossed his arms and frowned, but let the man continue, "I may be able to help you get a meeting with the king if you do a favor for me."

"And that is?" Jaune inquired.

"The thief, that one that attacked the king's carriage today. I need him dead."

"W-what?" Jaune said incredulously, "Dead?"

"Yes. But..." He studied the dirty room, "I do want to talk about this in a more...cleaner area."

"Fine by me," Ren mumbled, and followed Nyx out of the cell. Jaune stayed behind just a bit, his head spinning from what he just heard. He couldn't shake off the feeling. The feeling that something was special about that girl, about that thief. But the prince couldn't figure it out.

And if Nyx was good on his word, then she would be dead anyways.

* * *

"He calls himself the Invincible Thief," General Nyx handed a glass of water to Jaune.

"Sounds like an appropriate title," Ren said flatly, remembering how the person had been seemingly unaffected by his aura blasts.

"It is," Nyx said. They were all located in his sweltering hot office, taking position around his large desk.

"Actually, it's a she," Jaune corrected.

"Hmm?"

"The thief is a she."

"No. I highly doubt a woman can do what this man has done," Nyx said, "Besides, a woman wouldn't be strong enough to control an entire shop of weaponry. The idea is preposterous."

"But-"

"We understand, General Nyx," Ren interrupted, not wanting Jaune to ruin their chance of getting help. Jaune frowned at his friend, but didn't say another word, "But how long has this person been causing trouble?"

"Too long," Nyx said simply, "But, if you want details, I would say about three years."

"Three years?"

"Pitiful, I know. We have managed to corner him once or twice, but he's just too powerful. Always manages to control my men's armor or weaponry before using it against us."

"Using it against them..." Ren mused. He had seen plenty of dangerous semblances before, but none like what the thief had used.

"But how we do we fit into all of this?" Jaune questioned.

"You two are sojourners, strange travelers that have come to Mistral. If the thief does not know who you are, then it will be easier to catch him."

"How, though?"

"Mistral may be a military run country, but that doesn't mean we don't have our share of illegal underground events."

"Huh?"

"He's talking about places like the underground black market, battle arenas, and basically anything related to breaking the law," Ren stated.

"How do you know all this?" Jaune asked and Ren merely shrugged, "Okay, then. So, you want us to go underground and try to catch this 'Invincible Thief?"

"Yes," Nyx nodded, "And, in return, I shall allow you to have the chance to talk with King Nikos."

"How do we know you won't back down after we've accomplished what you've asked?" Ren scowled.

"I am a man of my word," Nyx said, "And I promise that I will keep my promise to you both." He held out his hand to Jaune, face hard, "Do we have a deal?" Jaune hesitated, not sure that going to the extreme of killing someone was worth talking to a king. But they needed help, they needed to get Weiss back so she could take her throne and possible stop Vale from being taken over.

"…Fine," Jaune and Nyx shook hands and the latter smiled.

"Good then. I'll have one of my men show you the secret entrance to the underground black-market. From there it's fairly simple to navigate your way down there."

"One question," Ren said, "If you know where this place is, and its layout, why don't you just send your men down there and deal with the criminals?"

"Because of the fact that the people down there are extremely…violent, you might say, and just killing everyone isn't very human, don't you agree?" Ren narrowed his eyes at the irony in Nyx's statement, but didn't speak again.

"Do you have any idea how to catch this thief?" Jaune asked.

"The ankle," Nyx said.

"What?"

"Every time my men have managed to wound him, it's only affected his ankle. We don't know why, but that's the only place where we can get a good hit." Nyx pulled a drawer out of his desk and grabbed a large brown sack. He handed it to Jaune, "Money, for some supplies and weaponry. You can't just face this person without good equipment."

"One question, though," Jaune said, "Why me? Why us, to be more specific, to send after this person?"

"Because, either A. I'm so desperate," Nyx gave a wicked smile, "Or B. The fact that you managed to survive a massacre. You were not meant to die at that castle, Jaune, so, ask yourself this: Why am I here? What am I supposed to do?"

"I know what I need to do," Jaune said in a cold voice, but inside he was starting to understand the general's words.

"I hardly doubt that you know," Nyx said, "But, if you're so sure, then I shouldn't keep you waiting any longer." He opened the room door and gestured for them to leave, "You have a thief to catch."

* * *

Please Read and Review! And stay tuned for the next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7: The Invincible Thief Part 2

A/N: Thank you all for your support! I had a bit of trouble making this. Mainly because this chapter has a lot of action and action scenes aren't my strength in stories :/ But hopefully I wrote it okay.

Also, I watched episode 11, and it was AWESOME. And Blake's semblance including dust totally confirms what I'm going to do with my story (laughs evilly) But, in all seriousness, one of the best episodes.

REVIEW TIME:

Skye Air: Thanks for you nice review. I'm glad you liked the hints I gave about Pyrrha.

TigerRaiken: Thanks for the review. And if you don't mind can I use Mistralian because I actually need like a certain title to give the people of Mistral so I can call them anything but...the people of Mistral. So, yeah. Thanks!

Kegi Springfield: Thanks for the review. And yes, Jaune does need to improve his pick up lines, but Jaune is Jaune so that'll be very unlikely.

Ragglefraggle97: By the way, I like your name, and thanks for the review!

ShaunyRedComet: Thanks for the review, and yes I will keep writing.

Koye: Thanks for the review. And technically Blake is by herself since she got separated from Weiss, but I have a general idea of how I'll get her to join team RWY (Ruby, Weiss and Yang). Aura is used by almost everyone, as I feel like in the show it didn't make sense when Pyrrha had to go through that long speech, so I don't want every character unlocking their aura that way. Besides, they're going to need aura later on, so, yeah, not EVERY character will get there's unlocked that way. Yes, there will be romance (not saying who) No, fingers cannot reattach, but I may look into that, and lastly, I'll try to add more RVB references. (This chapter will hopefully show some)

Ikasury: Your review made me laugh so hard. I looked up Legend of Dragoon and it took me about ten minutes to realize that you didn't mistype and it's actually spelled Dragoon instead of Dragon. And concerning Yang being responsible, I've always had this feeling that beneath her wild personality she truly is a very protective and responsible sister towards Ruby. Thank you for your support!

*Takes deep breath* Okay. Now that I'm done with that, onto the chapter! Please read and review!

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Invincible Thief Part 2**

**_Everyone is entitled to their own sorrow, for the heart has no metrics or form of measure. And all of it... irreplaceable. _**

**8 Years Ago**

_The girl ran, her legs burning, her watery tears blurring with the rain falling onto her face. The distant howl of a beast sent chills down her spine, or maybe that was because of the cold, slick rain coating her body. Where was her father? She had just been with him when the bad guys attacked. He said he was just behind her. All around her the trees seemed to taunt the girl's very existence, their towering branches and height causing her to want to climb under a rock and hide. But her father had told her to run, and she never disobeyed him. Suddenly, a sharp pain emancipated in her ankle as the girl failed to notice the tree root sticking up from the rocky ground. Her body twisted at an odd angle as she tripped and fell over the ledge of a small hill. Screaming, she tumbled down the hill at an alarming rate, her hair mixing with sticks and her skin breaking apart as blood flowed out freely.  
_

_Then, she abruptly stopped. Something had grabbed her. Someone had grabbed her. Afraid that the person was another bandit, the girl didn't dare to move from her now fetal position._

_"Are...are you okay?" It didn't sound like a criminal. It sounded like...a boy. A young boy to be exact. Bandits weren't young boys, were they? The girl figured no, and reluctantly opened her eyes. _

_The first thing she noticed was his eyes. Blue like the sea and soft and kind. His tousled blond hair seemed a bit unruly and long. Maybe he hadn't gotten it cut in a while? The girl gulped, not sure what to make of the stranger, and stayed silent.  
_

_"Um...are you okay?" The boy asked again, rain drizzling onto his already wet hair. The girl slowly uncurled her body and sat up. He seemed nice, and definitely not a murderer.  
_

_"I-I'm, f-f-fine," She stammered, not just because she was freezing, but because her speech had always been a problem since she was born, "I-I'm..."_

_"Wait a sec-" The boy said quickly, and put his fingers to his lips. The sound of growling caused the girl's blood to run cold and she froze. Behind them, the noise continued to grow, sending spikes of terror to her heart. She watched the boy carefully stand up, motioning for her to do the same, and they both started to tiptoe away towards the safe haven of trees. _

_Almost...there._

_Too late. The boy pushed the girl down as a silver haired wolf came leaping at them both. She shrieked and forced herself to stand up and try to remain calm. The wolf's menacing eyes locked onto not her, but the blond boy, and the animal lunged at him. The girl swiftly grasped a long stick off the ground and tried to stab the creature, her scrawny arms swinging wildly in the air and keeping the wolf at bay._

_"Keep distracting it!" The boy to her left shouted, "I have a dagger but it fell somewhere!" He dropped to the earth and ran his fingers into the long grass to try and find the weapon._

_"O-o-okay," The girl said nervously. The wolf growled and jumped at her once more, forcing her to tumble to the left and aim her makeshift sword at the beast's body. It's fangs nearly sunk into her heart as the beast continued its merciless onslaught. She couldn't go on like this any longer._

_"Got it!" The boy cried, causing the wolf to turn its head and direct its attention to the blond. Gulping, the boy raised his dagger and waited for the creature to try and strike. The girl, seeing her chance to sneak up on the creature, quietly sauntered towards the wolf, arm also raised with the stick held high. The boy looked at her and curtly nodded, signaling his thanks. Lightning suddenly struck from the sky, blinding the girl for a split moment and allowing the wolf to jump at the boy. The beast's teeth sunk into his wrist, causing him to yell out in pain and drop his dagger. The girl cried out in sorrow, but despite her fear, sprinted towards the fallen weapon and soared into the open air before stabbing the monster in the heart. The wolf's body went slack, and soon fell off of his prey.  
_

_"A-a-a y-you a-alright?" She stumbled over her words and her eyes widened as the boy began to fall from his loss of blood. She hastily cached him and set him carefully on a rock before inspecting his wound. Two gaping holes of red were located on his arm, and the girl tried not to panic as the boy's face turned a ghost-white. Her trembling fingers found her dirty shirt and she ripped off good chunk of fabric. Her father had taught her how to treat bleeding. Something called a ban-de-age? Wrapping the cloth around the injury, she muttered a quick prayer for the boy, as well as herself, and tied to know tightly. Looking around, she realized that she and the boy couldn't just stay out in the frigid and pouring rain. Attaching the dagger to the boy's belt, she placed both her hands under her armpits and dragged him into the forest in hopes of finding shelter. He stirred slightly, his mind fading in and out of reality, but the girl could hear him mutter two words over and over again.  
_

_"I'm Jaune, I'm Jaune..."_

_Jaune, the girl thought. The color of the sun, of light, the color of yellow. _

_It seemed to fit him._

* * *

**Mistral**

**Present Time**

"Well," Jaune stopped in front of the store. The only store, in fact, that was fortunately unharmed in the Invincible Thief's rampage, "Benjamen's Bountiful Blacksmith Shop. That...is like the worst name ever...of all time."

"Come on, Prince Jaune," Ren sighed, and opened the store door. The two had been spending the last twenty minutes gathering the needed supplies and materials, which included new clothes as having to drag oneself all over a country sort of soiled ones outfit. As they entered the shop, an apprentice with dark brown hair looked at them with curious eyes.

"Good morrow," He said, "I'm James, what can I help you both with?"

"I'm Ren, this is Jaune. We were wondering if you had any weapons-" Ren glanced at his friend, "-and a shield."

"Sure. The weapon racks are over there," James pointed to the corner of the shop, where several rows of swords and daggers hung loosely, "But we don't have many finished shields."

"What do you mean by finished?" Jaune asked.

"Just painted, decorated. Most folks ask for a custom designed shield," James explained.

"Are you willing to decorate one for me?"

"Sure, if you're willing to pay," James laughed, and Jaune put the large sack of money on a nearby table. James's eyes widened as he heard the rich sound of golden lien hit the surface, "Come with me into the back and we can get started." He waved for Jaune to follow.

"You know what you want?" Jaune said to Ren before he left. The raven-haired boy nodded silently.

"Just go, Prince Jaune."

"Don't call me that!" Jaune said, disappeared behind the corner as he and James went to get his new shield. Ren strolled over to the weapons on the wall and sighed. He couldn't recall the last time he picked up a sword, let alone a training one, and prayed that he could remember his father's lessons in fighting. Most of his life had been using aura, which came in handy, but Ren knew it would be unwise to depend on the fragile power. And besides, Jaune was pretty good at using a sword and he was Jaune, so how hard would it be? Ren extended his hand and grabbed a seemingly lightweight sword off the wall, only for the weapon to immediately fall to the ground. Nope, something was telling him that long-swords weren't his muse. Ren carefully placed the sword back up and looked around again. Out of the corner of his eye, a bright light flashed, and he turned his head quickly.

Hmm...those looked like they could work...

* * *

"So, where do you come from?" James inquired as he and Jaune walked towards the back store room, "If you don't mind me asking?"

"No, it's alright," Jaune said, "I traveled here from Vale." A pang of sadness stabbed his heart, but he forced a smile at the shop's apprentice.

"Wow, you must've had to travel for quite a while."

"It actually wasn't that bad. I live near the border of the land."

"What brings you to Mistral?" James asked while opening a door.

"Just sightseeing," Jaune lied. He and James entered the supply room and the latter reached up to grab a gray Heater shield.

"Here we go," James gently dropped the shield onto the nearby table, "Now here's the part where you tell me what you want designed on it."

"Hmm..."

"I'm not as good as the owner of the place, but I can do circles, squares, arcs-"

"Arcs?"

"Yeah."

"Can you do two for me?"

"Sure, what color would you like? I need three. One for the outline, one for the base color, and one for the color of the arcs."

"Gold, white and gold," Jaune said instantly, remembering his country's colors and emblem design.

"Sure. I'll get the supplies needed, but you can draw on this-" James put down a blank sheet of paper, "To show me where you want the arcs and everything else."

"Thanks," Jaune said, and James gave him a pencil. The prince slowly pressed the lead on the paper and closed his eyes, trying his very best to envision his family's flag...

* * *

"Hey, Jaune, are you done?" Ren asked as he ambled down the hallway. It had been a half-hour since first entering the store and he knew that the Invincible Thief wasn't going to catch herself.

"Yeah, yeah, Ren, I'm coming!" Jaune called, and the sound of a door opening and closing made Ren stop. Suddenly, his friend turned the corner, a shining and slightly wet-from-paint shield in his hand. Ren whistled and studied the piece of art, and the magenta eyed boy could guess that Jaune wanted to honor his family, as the shield looked exactly like Vale's flag. The Heater was a white color, with a golden outline and the same colored arcs smack dab in the center.

"I like it," Ren said after a long pause, "How much?"

"Not that much, only about 20 lien," Jaune shrugged, "Did you get a suitable weapon?"

"Two, actually," Ren gave a rare smile and held up two green handled daggers, both razor-sharp and a bit curvy in the middle.

"Ooh, they're pointy," Jaune stated the obvious, "You know how to use those, right?"

"Sort of," Ren admitted, "But I'm fairly sure it'll be fine." The two rounded the corner and payed James the required money before heading out. A windy breeze hit the raven-haired boy's face, causing shivers to run up his spine, "Where's the solider supposed to meet us?"

"Right there," Jaune pointed to a knight with regular Mistralian armor running towards them. His dark eyes seemed to scan the area with a hint of paranoia.

"You Jaune Arc?" He asked in a gruff manner. Jaune nodded, "Come with me." The man turned and headed down the stone street and into an alleyway. Jaune and Ren quickly sprinted after him and saw that he had stopped at a local tavern.

"Edgar's Hole," Ren read the shop's name, "Home to Beer, Money, and Trapped Cows...what the bloody hell."

"What kind of bastard would trap cows..." Jaune muttered.

"Here's where the person you need to find lives," The knight said, "His name's Ryan Haywood, and he's a fairly sane person."

"Fairly sane?" Jaune gulped.

"You'll be fine," The knight smirked, "And he knows how to get to the Mistral Underground Blackmarket, or M.U.M."

"Mum?" Jaune said, trying to hide a laugh.

"Hey, the name wasn't my choice," The knight shrugged, and began to walk away.

"Thanks for helping," Jaune said, and entered the tavern, Ren closely behind. The strong aroma of puke and alcohol instantly engulfed his senses, causing the prince to gag and cover his mouth in hopes of keeping his lunch where it belonged, "Dear lord this place reeks." Ren rolled his eyes and scanned the tavern for anyone that looked the owner. Ignoring the drunkards beating the hell out of one another, he walked over to the bar and sat down casually.

"Ugh, I'm going to be sick," Jaune groaned, holding onto his stomach, his face the color of pea-soup.

"Why must your stomach be so sensitive?" Ren asked.

"Get it from my father," Jaune stated, "That's why he never drinks alcohol unless on special occasions."

"Oh, well-"

"You two seem a little young to be here," A voice cut through Ren's sentence. The magenta eyed boy turned to see a middle-aged man with red hair staring back at him.

"That's because we are," Ren said, "But we're not here for a drink."

"Aw, too bad, you look like ya need one." He grinned while polishing his beer cup, "What brings you to this fine establishment?"

"We need to find someone," Ren shouted, trying to yell over all the noise the drunk men in the bar were creating. A loud crash was heard and several bits of glass flew in the air.

"Ugh, there goes another one of my fine glassware," The red man sighed, "Names Ryan Haywood," He held out his hand, "Owner of Edgar's Hole."

"Okay...then," Ren reluctantly shook his grease stained palm. The man named Ryan leaned in towards the magenta eyed boy, his breath smelling of garlic and trash, "We need to get to the Mistral Underground Market, and fast."

"What's yer business with it?" Haywood asked.

"We're looking for a person. A girl to be more exact. She stole something of mine and it's imperative that we get it back," Ren scowled, and narrowed his eyes.

"And what would this fanciful object be?" Haywood inquired.

"That's our business and our business only," Ren said coldly.

"Are you sure I can trust you with the entrance to a place where highly wanted thieves and cons live?"

"Abosolu-"

"BLEGH!" The sound of Jaune puking filled Ren's ears and he flinched.

"Seriously, Prince Jaune?!"

"Curse my stomach!" Jaune fell to the floor and gasped for air.

Haywood peered over the counter.

"Is he a drinker?" The bar owner asked.

"No, just an idiot," Ren corrected, and rubbed his temples, "Listen, we really need to get into this illegal place or whatever."

"If Vomit Boy cleans up his puke I might be able to help ya."

"Say what now?" Jaune raised his hand and grabbed onto the counter before weakly hoisting himself up.

"You heard the man, Jaune," Ren smirked, and watched as Haywood threw a broom at the blond, "Clean up time."

"I bloody hate you."

* * *

_The girl stopped, her breathing short and irregular and her head spinning from the lack of food in her stomach. It had been almost an hour since escaping the wolf, and by then the rain had ceased and the sun had begun to shine. Beside her, the blond boy with the less-than-decent bandage lazily opened his eyes and gasped. He instantly shot up and looked left and right several times.  
_

_"Where..." His voice trailed off as he realized that he wasn't dead._

_"A-are, y-you a-a-alright?" She stammered. The boy nodded and lifted up his arm._

_"Did you make this?" He asked._

_"Mmhm," She said._

_"Thanks," He rubbed his hand through his hair, "I'm Jaune, by the way."_

_"P-Pyrrha A-A-Avair," Pyrrha said, and held out her hand. Her father had always told her to be polite._

_"Keira?"  
_

_"Pyrrha."_

_"Mira?"  
_

_"P-Pyrrha."_

_"Oh...Lira?"_

_"N-nevermind," Pyrrha groaned._

_"Okay, Pyrrha," Jaune's face lit up, "Hey, I got it!"  
_

_"Y-yes y-you did," Pyrrha chuckled a little._

_"So, Pyrrha, where are we?"_

_"D-don't k-know," Pyrrha admitted, "A-after t-the wolf bit y-you I d-dragged y-you h-here."_

_"Well..thanks again," Jaune said and tried to stand up, only to immediately fall down. He yelped in pain and Pyrrha helped him sit back up. _

_"I d-don't t-think y-you should m-move," She said._

_"I wish my father was here," Jaune's voice cracked a bit and his eyes watered up.  
_

_"M-me too," Pyrrha said sadly, "W-why i-isn't y-your f-father here?"_

_"I...it's a long story."  
_

_"I'm w-willing t-to l-listen,"" Pyrrha said in an earnest tone._

_"Really?"_

_"S-sure. I-it'll be l-like w-we're t-telling one a-another bedtime s-stories."  
_

_"Hmm, I guess it is!" Jaune laughed slightly, "Okay then, Pyrrha. I'm a prince."_

_"A prince?" Pyrrha said in awe._

_"Yeah. It seems nice, but it really isn't."_

_"Why n-not?"_

_"Nobody listens to what I want to do, or even where I want to go," Jaune's face darkened, "My mom and dad don't even listen to what I say sometimes."_

_"That doesn't sound good," Pyrrha could never imagine her father neglecting her.  
_

_"That's why I ran away."_

_"You r-ran a-way?"_

_"Yeah. Now I don't know what to do."_

_"M-my d-daddy m-may f-find m-me s-soon," Pyrrha said hopefully, "W-we g-got l-lost from each o-other."_

_"Do you think we'll be able to get some food soon," Right on cue Jaune's stomach growled, "I'm hungry."_

_"M-me t-too."_

* * *

After about ten minutes of vomit cleaning, which may or may not have caused more puke to exit Jaune's stomach, and a somewhat large bribe to Haywood, the bar owner opened up the back room and took Ren and Jaune to the M.U.M secret entrance.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Haywood asked again.

"We have to," Ren said simply. Haywood turned the corner and unlocked a small room with one of his keys.

"Here we are. One of the many entrances to The Mistral Underground Blackmarket," He pointed to the wine-colored rug on the floor, "Under this is an entrance to the place."

"This...is it?" Jaune said.

"What did ya expect? A royal red carpet? Some trumpets going off to signal ya arrival? Most entrances are different, but at least mine is subtle," The bar owner moved the rug and opened the wooden latch underneath, revealing a black hole, "Here we go."

"We have to jump!?" Jaune exclaimed, a frightened expression on his face as he stared down the entrance to the illegal black market, "This is a _HOLE!"_

"So?"

"So!?" Jaune backed away slowly.

"Uh, ye do realize that we don't have mile long ladders in Mistral, right?" Haywood said dryly.

"Well, yeah, but can't you add like, stairs or something?" Jaune protested.

Ren looked over the edge of the hole, "How do you even get back up?"

"You'll figure that part out when you get down there."

"How does that even make sense?!" Jaune exclaimed.

"It's not that far," Ren said, "We're wasting time, Jaune."

"I am NOT jumping down a hole that's leading to Remnant knows where."

"Aw, c'mon!" Haywood gave a hearty laugh, "If cows can do it, so can you!" He raised his beefy hand.

"What are you-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-" Haywood shoved Jaune into the hole and Ren watched as the dignified Prince of Vale screamed like a little girl, "-OOF"! The sound of Jaune's body hitting something caused Ren to laugh a little.

"He sounds like a pretty pansy, I might say," Haywood chuckled.

"Are you dead, yet, Prince Jaune?" Ren asked innocently, not being able to see his friend's body because of the long distance.

"Your an ass, ya know that, right? Jaune yelled.

"Oh, yeah," Ren smirked.

"So, is this where we part?" Haywood said.

"Afraid so," Ren prepared himself to drop down, "Thanks for the help!"

"No problem, and a word of advice, if I might."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Don't get killed. 'Cause chances are you might."

"Hmm, I'll keep that in mind," Ren said, and without another moments hesitation flung himself into darkness.

* * *

He totally forgot about Jaune.

Oh...the pain.

_CRASH! THUD! CRACK-_"MY BACK!" A blur of colors flashed everywhere and Ren slammed into a hard object. Stars danced in Ren's vision as reality came back to him. Crap, that was not going to help his injured arm. He looked to his right and saw that he and Jaune had landed on a huge pile of straw, hay, and meshes. Something warm was under him, why was-?

"REN, GET OFF ME!" Jaune yelled. His friend, seeing the position they were both currently in, immediately hopped off and brushed his sleeves, sending a jab of pain up to the wound he received at the Arc Castle.

"You alright?" Ren asked.

"No. You just fell on my from, like, 100 feet on my back. I'm perfectly fine," Jaune said sarcastically while rubbing his injured spine at the same time.

"I thought you had moved!" Ren defended. Before Jaune could be a comment back the sound of swords being drawn echoed behind their ears.

"State your business coming here-" A woman's voice said sternly. Ren and Jaune turned around to see a group of peasants aiming their weapons at the two sojourners' faces, "Or else die."

"Woah, woah, woah!" Jaune took a step back, "T-take it easy. We're here because we're looking for someone who stole something from my friend."

"You...aren't related to King Nikos?" The woman asked, her murky brown eyes narrowed.

"No," Jaune said, though he technically remembered that General Nyx was. But having a dozen people with potential life-threatening swords aimed at him caused that part to slip his mind.

"He's telling the truth," Ren said slowly, "We're only here to get something that belongs to us." The woman seemed to consider his statement before finally putting away her glaive.

"Fine, they're in," She stated to her friends, and they all sheathed their weapons as well. The woman extended her hand and gave a forced smile, "I'm Imogen. Welcome to the West Side of the Inferus."

"Inferus?" Ren said in a confused tone.

"West Side?" Jaune said.

"We call this place Inferus, as it means a lower world in Latin," Imogen explained.

"It's a step up from M.U.M," Jaune mumbled, "And whatever this place is, it doesn't really look like a blackmarket area." He looked around to see more than a dozen happy children chasing one another.

"Inferus is split into four parts," Imogen explained as she, Ren, and Jaune strolled down the secret city's path, the latter taking in the remarkable sights as they walked. A vast assortment of handmade shops and stores were lined up along the stone walls. A water fountain to his left gushed out clear spring liquid while kids laughed and encircled around it.

"If you're looking for a thief-" Imogen's words brought Jaune back to the conversation, "Or a conman, or even someone to do your dirty work, the Northern and Eastern part it the place you wish to be." Ren suddenly stopped as he felt small tug on his shirt. Glancing down, a young girl with bright blue eyes and brown hair smiled warmly.

"You accidentally stepped on Lucy," She said in a matter-of-fact voice. Ren lifted his foot and saw that he had indeed put his foot on her doll.

"Er. Sorry," He reached down and handed the doll to the girl, who instantly ran away afterwards.

"Wow, you're really good with kids," Jaune said.

"Belt it, Jaune," Ren grumbled, "Anyways, about this whole place. Why is it all split up?"

"Mainly because each person has different opinions on how to this is be be ran," Imogen said, "Here is where the peasants and everyone trying to avoid Nikos's collapsing economy gather. In the Northern and Eastern parts is where illegal trade happens, as well as sword matches and other types of brawling. And in return for us giving them food, they have vowed to protect us in case Nikos's soldiers try to attack."

"You grow food down here?" Ren said in a surprised tone.

"Aye. Mostly wheat, though. But lately we've been having problems with the soil, so food has been slightly scarce. Usually when this happens we just send some people up the surface to trade or buy, but Nikos' soldiers have been patrolling like nobodies bloody business."

"You seem to have a pretty stable home here."

"Indeed. Up there is too dangerous," Imogen gave a sad look, "I can just...sense it in the air that something is about to happen to Remnant. Call me a loony bird but it's just a bad feeling. That's why I moved down here with my family."

"Sometimes it's important to expect the unexpected," Ren stated, "And there's no harm in living down here where it's safe and secure."

"I guess you are right," Imogen.

"So, do you have any idea how we can get to the Northern and Eastern parts?" Jaune inquired.

"Just follow this path-" Imogen stomped her foot on the stone path underneath her body, "But, I warn you, once you reach where you want to go the atmosphere may become a bit...changed."

"Yeah, we've been told," Ren said.

"And, not trying to be a downer or anything, but whatever you're searching for, it's probably been sold by now."

"Well, we don't really have much of a choice," Jaune said grimly.

"If that's the case, then I wish you luck," Imogen began to stride away.

"Thank you-" Jaune sighed, "We'll probably need it."

* * *

"Why didn't you use your aura back there?" Ren's question popped out of the blue, and Jaune struggled to find an answer.

"I-I, well, you see-"

"I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, but it's just that at times when I was watching you and your father duel, you never used it unless instructed to," Ren said, "And aura would of been useful to, you know, assist your injured back."

"Er...I don't exactly have control over my aura."

"Huh?"

"My aura wasn't exactly unlocked correctly."

"What? I thought your father unlocked yours."

"Yeah...I lied."

"Oh. Then...how?"

"It's a long story."

"Well-" Ren shrugged, "Maybe I can help you unlock your aura all the way if you tell me what happened."

"Okay then. I guess it all started when I realized being a prince was a completely overrated job profession. My dad was mad at me for missing one of my history lectures or something...or maybe sparring. Anyways, it doesn't matter. But I had basically ran away. Long story short, I got utterly lost and met a girl. We ended up getting hurt or something and she unlocked my aura so I could heal her. But...she wasn't able to do it properly because she had a bad stutter."

"Quite a story there."

"I know, right."

"How are you able to control yours so easily?"

"I'm just used to it," Ren said. Suddenly, the sound of a chatter and fighting filled the air the closer he and Jaune got to turning the tunnel corner.

"Hmm, I wonder what everyone is so riled up about," Jaune muttered, and the two friends looked around the tunnel's bend. No sooner had Jaune did this when a bladed battle axe came flying at his head, "What the-!?" He cursorily ducked and his face dug into hard dirt as the shiny weapon lodged itself into the wall behind him. Trying hard not to have a mental breakdown at his near death experience, he jumped up, eyes trailing towards the seemingly insane person that had just thrown axe.

"This...is not good," Ren said in a stoic voice, and Jaune followed his friend's gaze to what he saw staring at.

Well...Imogen was telling the truth about how the atmosphere would change. Nearly every top-of-the-line criminal seemed to be in the Mistral Blackmarket Center. The bustling place was full of high-class tents and stores perfect for trading and selling. Rows of torches aligned on the walls illuminated the market with an eerier glow, sending peoples' shadows dancing across the floor. A burly man was beating up another man at a local pub just like in Edgar's Hole, and several horse-run-carts strolled down the streets with goods in their trunks. Jaune gulped, and scooted closer to the wall in hopes of avoiding anyone more flying weapons.

"What the hell do we do?" Jaune asked softly.

"Er...act normal?"

"Act normal!?"

"Well, I haven't exactly been in this kind of situation before, Prince Jaune!"

"Okay, okay. How about this? We just walk down the street and hope that no one tries to pummel us. Then, we ask someone who, once again, won't pummel us for information on the Invincible Thief."

"Walk and don't die. That sounds like the kind of plan you would create," Ren said jokingly.

"Yeah, yeah it is," Jaune took a deep breath before rounding the corner. Head held high, he ignored the strange looks that the people were giving him and continued making his way down the street. His perpendicular vision informed him that no one was running up to him saying 'DIE NEW GUY' so he figured he was in the clear. Sneaking a glance at Ren, he saw that his friend was as stoic as ever, face passive despite the odd stares he was getting, but his hands were resting on his daggers just in case someone tried something. Soon, the criminals and thieves decided that the two friends weren't worth the time, and resumed their daily business of killing and stealing.

"So," Ren said as soon as he thought he and Jaune were away from harm, "What should we do now?"

"Find the thief. I'm pretty sure that someone around here knows her. Maybe we should split up and try to cover more ground."

"Are you sure about that?" Ren asked, "No offense but these people are down here for a reason."

"Look, Ren. They don't give a Remnant about us, they didn't even wave. And I'm sure that we'll be fine," Jaune reasoned.

"Fine, but meet back here if anyone goes wrong," Ren brought out his daggers and held them tightly in his hands, "Now, let's find that thief."

* * *

_"Just go, Pyrrha!" _

_"I'm not leaving you!" Pyrrha blinked back the tears overflowing her face as she and an injured Jaune raced down the lonesome street._

_Almost lonesome, that is. The two had been traveling for quite a while until they had run into a band of marauders. Jaune had, once again, saved the crimson haired girl's life by taking an arrow for her. _

_She had to admit, he was selfless, but also stupid. Now, she was half-dragging/half-carrying the prince with the thieves still on their tails. Her legs wouldn't stop shaking and her head felt like it was going to explode from her deprivation of sleep. Pyrrha would have used her aura, a skill her father taught her, but she wanted to save it for Jaune for later.  
_

_If they survived, however. Suddenly, an arrow grazed Pyrrha's head, causing the young girl to stumble and fall onto the street. Blood ran down the side of her cheeks and she mentally cursed herself for her inability to dodge attacks. She felt Jaune slip out from her grasp and tried to yell his name, but a rough hand grabbed her mouth and neck before slamming her into the earth again. Pyrrha activated her aura, allowing her mind to heal see what was going on. The thieves had indeed caught up with them, one slinging Jaune over his shoulder, and Pyrrha scowled. The man who had seized her gave a cruel smile, and pinned her arms down before getting on top of her legs. _

_"Now for some fun," He said. Pyrrha closed her eyes and tried to ignore the tingling sensation in her fingers.  
_

_Wait...a tingling sensation? Pyrrha glanced at her hands and was shocked to discover they were glowing a vibrant dark red. Green eyes wide, she saw that when she wiggled her finger tips a nearby fallen sword began to move. _

_My semblance, she realized. Her father had told her that she would unlock hers when the time was right._

_"Pyrrha!" Jaune's voice called out. The man on top of Pyrrha was about to lean in when the crimson haired girl flicked her wrist, causing the sword to fly up into the air and race towards the man's chest. The sickening sound of flesh being impaled caused the nine year old to close her eyes as flecks of warm blood splattered on her cheeks. She pushed the man over to the side and lifted both her hands. The band of thieves were starting to back away, their weapons rattling every time Pyrrha waved her fingers. Suddenly, with a thrust of her arms, the swords and axes turned against their owners, cutting open their skin and stabbing every inch of their bodies. She watched as Jaune wiggled his way out of the a thief's grasp and ran towards her. A deafening silence filled their ears as their eyes scanned the mass of dead bodies littering the empty road. Hands no longer illuminated, Pyrrha let them fall to her side and her knees gave way.  
_

_"Pyrrha!" She felt Jaune's arms grab hers before everything turned to black._

* * *

Finding a thief was easier said than done. After about fifteen minutes of countless searching, bumping into people, and nearly getting hit by 7...no 10 flying knives and swords, Jaune was about to crack. No one seemed to know where the Invincible Thief was.

"You should try the Inferus Battle Arena."

Almost everyone.

"The what?" Jaune was taking a rest at a makeshift bar and trying his very best not to anger the drunk men surrounding the area, "The battle arena?"

"Yep," The bar tender said, "I've been there once or twice, never really my thing, but she's popular around those parts."

"The Battle Arena..." Jaune nearly slapped himself for not figuring that out earlier, "Thanks for the help."

"No problem," The man said, and gave a half-toothless grin, "Here, take this as a Inferus gift," He tossed a glass of odd-smelling beer towards the prince.

"Uh...thanks," Jaune said, and jumped up from his bar seat before taking a sharp left.

_CRASH! _Jaune felt the beer filled cup slip from his fingers and shatter on the floor as he smacked into another person. He stumbled back before a fist shot out from the air and grabbed his shirt.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" A female voice snapped, and Jaune blinked several times to make out the mysterious figure, "You just got beer all over my shirt!" She pulled the blond forwards so that he got a good look at her angry face.

The first thing Jaune noticed was her eyes. They were a vivid emerald green color that seemed to grow brighter with every blink she took. Wearing her signature cloak, she was also dressed in bronze and red armor everywhere instead of her hands, and her lush crimson hair fell over her shoulder in a wavy manner. Flashes of strange past memories and scenes rolled over Jaune's mind. Ones full of silver wolfs twirling and blood spraying everywhere. He_ remembered_ this from somewhere, but...where? The prince could only gape as the girl continued to scowl at him.

"Excuse me? Are you brain dead?" She asked rudely.

"Um..."

"Well, I suppose that's a yes," The girl shoved Jaune back and began to stalk away.

"Hey!" Jaune yelled and put his hand on the girl's shoulder. She instantly spun around and twisted Jaune's wrist towards the Inferus ground. And despite the massive pain of his breaking arm, Jaune decided to continue talking, "I remember you from somewhere."

"I'm well-known around here," The girl scoffed, not letting her grip loosen.

"No, no. Not from here. From before."

"Please. Do you even know who I am?" The girl asked, her tone cold and sharp.

"Not exactly."

"Then stop acting like a fool and use your brain." Her voice made Jaune grit his teeth, "If you have one."

"Course I do, sunshine," Jaune's mind zoomed back to his encounters with Weiss and her snobbish nature. Dealing with this girl's attitude would be a piece of cake, "Afraid you don't, though."

Her _strength _however.

"What makes you think you have the right to talk to me like that?" She scowled, and Jaune yelped out in pain as she twisted his wrist even more. He had to get out of there before she permanently rearranged his bones.

"I don't know, hot-stuff," Jaune smirked, "But I'll answer you if you let me go."

"Ever heard of the Mistral Tournament?"

"Nope."

"Best Fighter of the Year Award?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Okay..." She gave a wicked grin, "How...about..._this_," Her other hand flicked up, revealing a light green dust crystal, and Jaune would have fallen down from shock if she wasn't holding his arm.

"You!" He exclaimed, and used his free hand to try and reach the dust.

"I recognize a face when I see one," The girl said simply, "Especially from a bumbling idiot like yourself. Thanks for letting me escape, by the way."

"L-letting you-I need that back!" Jaune shouted. The girl's crimson hair smacked his face as she let go of his arm and spun around. Jaune rubbed his wrist and stood up.

"Please. Do you know how much this thing will give me? It's not everyday that you get your hands on dust, sweetie."

"Listen," Jaune didn't care how pathetic he sounded, "I really, really need that and-"

"And what?" Her eyes narrowed, "You think that your well-being is more important than others? Than the ones who actually need money or food?"

"No, I just-"

"Well, it's not. So I think I'll hold onto this for safe-keeping," The girl's smug expression caused Jaune to clench his fists in anger.

"Listen, I don't know who the hell you are-" He took a few steps forward, "But what gives _you _the right to take what's not yours?"

"Stealing because you just want to and stealing for a purpose it different," The thief smirked, "So, I think that I'll hold onto this while I can."

"You have no right to take that!"

"Well, it could be a repentance from the fact you spilled beer on my battle armor," She pointed to the very noticeable stain on her shirt. Jaune's vision suddenly filled with another flickering memory, a memory containing a bone sticking out in an odd angle and an arrow whizzing towards his chest.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Uh, the Invincible Thief," She said.

"No, the real you. The one that I remember from my past."

"Sorry, you must have me confused with someone else," She said, "Listen, whoever you are, I've got some business to attend to." The thief gave one last arrogant grin before sprinting away, pushing away anyone that got in her path.

"No, come back here!" Jaune unsheathed his sword and began to run after the Invincible Thief. Keeping up was fairly simple, considering the fact that her crimson hair stuck out like white in black, and he maneuvered his body past the congested crowd. The girl glanced back and scowled before bringing out what looked like to be a spear, and cut a nearby rope holing up a platform of supplies. Jaune barely had time to put up his shield before getting pelted by raining barrels and boxes. More memories went through his mind as he remembered a very stormy night and a very scared-

_CRASH!_ "Aw, crap." Jaune jumped over a rolling barrel. His eyes scanned the road of people before finding the flash of bronze in the crowd. He quickened his pace and shouted for anyone in his way to move. Soon, the Invincible Thief could be fully spot, and he sprinted towards her. His eyes trailed to the girl's ankle, where Ren had hit, and noticed that it was oddly protruding a bit out to the side, like someone didn't properly attach the joint.

Oh crap, Jaune's mind zapped back to reality as he saw the thief extend her illuminated palm out to her side.

Polarity.

_CLASH_! The blond cursed the thief as her semblance went into action and some blackmarket weapons suddenly banged into his shield. Jaune's vision flashed with scenes of his past. Of weapons flying and a familiar looking girl waving her hands like crazy, a maniacal expression of her face. He tumbled down to the ground and his mouth filled up with dirt and gravel. Not wanting the annoying thief to escape, he pushed himself up and-

"Prince-?"

"GAH, REN?!" Jaune didn't have time to question the sudden appearance of his friend, as the prince's head butted into Ren's stomach, sending the two soaring into a tent. The sticks holding up the makeshift home fell down, causing the tarp to collapse and ultimately engulf the two. Jaune heard Ren curse and the raven-haired boy instantly blew the tent to shreds using his aura, a look of frustration etched on his face. The prince gulped, and shakily scooted to the right to avoid Ren's obvious vexation.

"..."

"Ren?"

"..."

"Ren?"

"...what were you doing?"

"Um...chasing down the thief."

"...Oh."

"...are you okay?"

"...yes," Ren stood up and brushed the dirt off his sleeves, "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Ren sighed and readjusted his daggers, "Listen. Where was the thief headed?"

"That way-" Jaune pointed to the path the Invincible Thief had taken.

"That's the way to the Inferus Battle Arena," Ren stated.

"Oh, well that's just great."

"She'll most likely be hiding there."

"Yeah, that's what I figured," Jaune said, "Hey, Ren?"

"Yes, Prince Jaune?"

"I recognized her from somewhere."

"Huh?" Ren's face turned to confusion.

"I remember her from somewhere, but I just can't...remember where exactly."

"Does it matter now?"

Jaune considered his question.

"No, I guess not," Jaune muttered, and picked up his fallen shield. He slipped his arms into the handles and gave a grim smile, "Okay. To the battle arena it is, then?"

* * *

_"Hey, Pyrrhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-"_

_"G-GAH!" Pyrrha's head shot up and she almost smacked Jaune's face as her arms flared around wildly. The prince, seeing her distress, hastily grasped her hands and shoved them to her side._

_"Pyrrha!" He shouted._

_"W-where am I-I?" She stuttered, and gasped when she saw the massive wound in Jaune's shoulder, "A-are y-you okay?_

_"I've been a lot better," Jaune laughed, then winced as he moved his chest, "No. No I'm not okay. My shoulder hurts."_

_"What...w-what h-happened?" Pyrrha asked, studying the area that she and her new friend were in. The two seemed to be taking refuge in a small, damp cave full of sharp stalagmites and dripping water from the ceiling. Jaune was resting on a rock next to her._

_"You sort of went a bit...mad," Jaune said, rubbing the back of his neck._

_"M-mad?"_

_"Well, not exactly bonkers, but your hands sort of glowed and all these swords started to stab the bad guys," Jaune explained. Pyrrha brought up her palms, her face expressionless. She had done it. She had unlocked her semblance. A feeling of terror took hold of her heart at the thought of all the damage she could've done to Jaune or anyone else if awake._

_"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, and tried to touch her, but she flinched away._

_"D-don't t-touch me," She stammered, and pushed herself up against the cold cave wall._

_"Hey, hey!" Jaune said, "Listen. I don't care what you did to those guys. They were bad, no, they were evil. And they deserved it. If it weren't for you, we would be dead."_

_"R-really?"_

_"Really," His sincere tone calmed the crimson haired girl down a bit, and she allowed Jaune to pull her into a light hug, "I know everything is going to be alright."_

_"H-how?"_

_"Because it's like what my mother always said to me: Things can only get better."_

_"Y-your m-mother sounds s-smart," Pyrrha said, her voice a bit muffled by her mouth being in Jaune's chest armor. Outside, a new storm had begun to form, and the faint sound of rain filled the cave's inside. _

_"After the storm ends we'll have to find a nearby village or something."_

_"I-I w-want my d-daddy," Pyrrha said, feeling a bit childish._

_"Yeah...yeah I want mine too."_

* * *

"Well...this is new," Jaune's mouth was practically about to come off his head as he gaped at the massive Inferus Battle Arena. The arena was located at the very edge of the Norther part. It was a vast place, with a humongous circular shaped battle zone placed in the center of ringed stands. Numerous torches and other sources of light managed to make the arena visible and the seats were almost packed full. Jaune and Ren ran down the stands and scanned the crowd for the Invincible Thief.

"Crap, I don't see her anywhere," Ren stated.

"Maybe she went underneath the arena."

"Underneath?"

"Well, I would guess that there needs to be someplace where the fighters take rest or something."

"LADIES ANS GENTLEMEN!" A gruff voice boomed, "PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE ARENA." Jaune and Ren looked down towards the battle zone arena to see a stout man with lively blue eyes holding a torch, "WE ARE BEGINNING OUR FIRST MATCH OF THE DAY!" The crowd cheered with delight and the man smiled, "As you all know, I'm John Keith, owner of the Arena, and it is my pleasure to have these fighters and warriors showcase their skills." Jaune noticed a couple of men handing each other lien to make bets, "And it is also a pleasure to welcome our unbeatable champion." The crowd started to get restless as Keith continued, "This is a special match. Four against one."

"Four against one?" Jaune exclaimed, "Who's mad enough to do..." His voice trailed off as the to-be-fighters ran onto the stage. He could immediately spot out the team of four. They each had heavy armor on their bodies, and the guy who Jaune presumed was the leader had light brown hair and a scowl on his face.

"Team CRDL!" Keith announced, and the stands erupted with violent roars of approval, "Led by Cardin Winchester!" The leader stepped up and waved his stone mace around. His teammates only rolled their eyes and readied their weapons.

"And..." The crowd went silent as Keith continued, "Your champion, the Invincible Thief!"

"Are you serious!?" Jaune yelled, much to the chagrin of the people around him, who gave him disapproving frowns. The Invincible Thief entered the stage, her cloak now gone and a now metal container attached to her waist belt. She brandished her spear, causing the crowd to howl with delight, and walked over next to Keith.

"Is that her?" Ren asked.

"Yep," Jaune answered.

"She must have entered herself into a match to avoid a confrontation with us," Ren deduced.

"Yeah, yeah I've got that now," Jaune mumbled in defeat, his gaze glued onto the thief's smug smile. Keith held up his palm to silence the arena.

"As you know, the rules of a regular fighting match are simple: You're not allowed to kill, and the winner is determined if all opponents are thrown off the stage area or are unable to continue. Any questions?" Neither CRDL or the thief replied, "Very well then, let the match begin!" Team CRDL immediately backpedaled and lifted their weapons. The Invincible Thief brought up her spear as well, face turned passive, and for the next few moments the two sides only studied one another in hopes of finding a weak spot.

Suddenly, the second member of CRDL, a blue haired boy, sprinted forwards, axe raised, and brought the weapon down. The thief, seeing his attack, preformed a swift backflip, and the axe buried itself into the arena ground. The other members of CRDL raced forwards, each one taking a position around the thief. Jaune could practically see the gears in her mind zooming and turning around as she formulated a plan to take down her enemies. She tossed her second weapon/line of defense, a golden colored shield, at a green haired member of CRDL, causing him to duck. He gave a look of victory as the shield harmlessly flew over his head. _  
_

_BANG! _Jaune winced in sympathy as the shield hurtled back and promptly smacked the man in the back of his brain. He fell to the floor with a _thud. _The thief gasped as Cardin swung his mace at her neck, and she quickly ducked and used her spear to trip his legs. Cardin growled, and got up before trying to attack the girl again.

Ren narrowed his eyes, watching the thief practically murder her opponents. Bright blurs of bronze and crimson swirled in the air as the thief threw her spear and shield before they came back with a flick of her hand. The blue haired man flung his axe again but she managed to block it. The girl's spear then sliced him on the shoulder and he fell back.

_CRASH! _Another of the thief's enemies stabbed his gray sword into the ground, allowing him to jump up and swing his leg into the girl's face. Her emerald eyes widened before she was tossed back into the arms of the blue haired man. Not wasting another second, the girl swiftly jabbed her elbow into his chest and grabbed his arms before twisting them back and pushing him into another oncoming enemy. With another flick of her arm her spear appeared and she hurled the sharp weapon towards Cardin's head, barely missing his face by an inch. The spear embedded itself into the ground next to his feet, and the Invincible Thief sprinted to the left as his mace swung in the air. The man she had bonked on the head with her spear, hit the thief's shield as his knives went into full action. His wrists twisted and turned as the girl kept dodging his attacks, making sure to keep her shield up and prepped. Behind the two's duel, Cardin heaved himself up and scowled. The brown haired man watched as the thief and his partner's fighting continued without success, and Cardin charged towards the two. The thief gave a somewhat banal look before tumbling to the left and tripping the green clad boy with her shield. Her arm raised up and she ducked Cardin's full-on attack before quickly hoisting herself onto his back and using her legs to push him to the arena floor. The crowd cheered on as she continued her onslaught of pain. The thief's expression, however, only seemed to become more bored. She propelled herself off of Cardin and towards her spear...

Ren narrowed his eyes.

...palm turning a dark red as she grew closer to the weapon.

"So that's how..."

The spear instantly leaped into the air and into her hand, which she soon threw at the last remaining enemy. Time seemed to stop as the spear pierced Cardin's shoulder armor, sending him flying back onto the floor with an echoing _thud. _The girl brushed a few loose strands of hair out of her eyes and positioned herself in a defensive stance in case Cardin decided to stand up again. A deafening silence filled the battle arena and for several moments, the only noise being created as the thief's heavy panting.

1...2...3...Cardin and his teammates didn't rise.

Which meant...

"Your winner!" Keith exclaimed, face beaming, "THE INVINCIBLE THIEF!" Jaune's ears nearly exploded from the crowd's abrupt yells and shouts of joy and anguish. Money was thrown into the air from earlier made bets and a few curses were heard as some lost their own lien. The Invincible Thief gave a smug smile, the only true expression shown during the whole entire time, and Keith raised her sweaty hand into the air.

"That...is one hell of a fighter," Jaune muttered out loud.

"She used her semblance to retrieve her spear," Ren said in a blunt manner. Jaune looked at his friend in surprise.

"She did? I didn't see it."

"That's because she makes sure to use it at the right time," Ren explained, "I'm guessing maybe she doesn't want others to figure out her semblance."

"Would make sense," Ren watched as Keith whispered something in the Invincible Thief's ear.

"Now. As a...special occasion. I would like to call up anyone who is willing to challenge The Invincible Thief," Keith announced. Almost instantly the people in the front rows started to scoot back.

"Now, now," The thief flashed a fake smile, "I believe that you will find this deal very...intriguing." Jaune felt a hint of suspicion nag the corner of his mind.

"What is she doing..." He whispered to himself.

"I have stumbled upon a somewhat interesting object that I will be willing to trade if one person is able to beat me," The Invincible Thief put her belt and brought out the metal container that was hanging from the side. Uncorking the container, she put her hand in and brought out a bright green piece of dust. A few dozen gasps emitted from the crowd.

"Uh...Ren?" Jaune glanced at his friend whose face was a mixture between fury and shock.

"I'm thinking..." Ren scowled softly.

"As I was saying. Whoever can beat me in this test of skill, can have this dust crystal. If you lose, well, I can't promise that you'll get out of the battle in one piece, let alone alive."

Jaune gulped.

"So..." Emerald green eyes met blue as she looked at Jaune, "Who will take this one in a life time offer?"

_She wants me to do it, _The truth dawned onto the Valean Prince, _But why? What does she want?_

"I'm doing it," Ren said.

_Yeah, let Ren do it, _Jaune thought, _Besides, he's a better fighter than me. _But even though Jaune knew that was true, the Invincible Thief wanted _Jaune _to fight, not anyone else. As Ren began to stand up, the blond instantly pushed him down and raised his arm.

"I'll do it!" He yelled, causing several people around him to snicker.

"Jaune," Ren hissed, "What are you-"

"I pick him," The Invincible Thief said, and pointed at the scraggly blond in the midst of the crowd. The laughs quieted down as they realized she was serious.

"Er, are you sure about that?" Keith asked, and The Invincible Thief gave him a death glare, "Fine, okay, okay." Keith waved at Jaune, "Hey you! Come down to the arena!" Jaune's legs felt like stone as he ignored Ren's protests and slowly walked down towards the battle zone.

"All woman love confidence. If I can show her that I'm not afraid, maybe she won't kill me," Jaune mumbled, trying to ease his mental worries. He could feet beads of sweat forming on his head and quickly wiped the water off. Soon, he was on the stage and staring directly at his new opponent. Her crimson hair seemed to sway ever so slightly, and her emerald eyes filled with a wicked glint.

"So, what's your name? I never got it before," She asked.

"Um..." Jaune's mind raced as he tried to think of an alias, "J-John...Doe."

"John Doe, huh?" She smirked, "Well, I don't blame you for wanting to keep your identity a secret." The Invincible Thief waved her hand to send Keith off the stage, "So, are you ready?"

_Hell no, _"Yeah, I'm ready." Jaune unsheathed his sword and held up his shield in preparation for his incoming attacks. The Invincible Thief gave a smug grin before casually strolling around the stage, spear useless at her side.

"Well, aren't you going to attack?" She asked.

"I-I thought you were going to-"

"Number 1 rule of fighting," In a flash of gold the girl suddenly flicked her shield up and thrust it at Jaune's head. he yelped and instantly hit the deck, watching as the round object circled back to the thief's hand, "Always be prepared."

* * *

_"P-Pyrrha I-I just need you to calm down-" Jaune stammered, trying to quiet down the crying girl. He and the redhead had left the cave of two days ago, barely managing to survive on berries and animals Jaune caught. However, while fleeing from a group of White Serfs, Pyrrha had fallen down a small ravine and the outcome: A very, very broken ankle.  
_

_"I-it h-h-hurts," Pyrrha sobbed while clutching Jaune's palm like nobodies business. _

_"I-I know, I know," Jaune said, "But we have to stay calm, alright?" Jaune's voice shook and he knew his facade of being brave was about to break. He couldn't remember anything on how to fix broken bones, other than aura could only do so much, and was losing faith that they would survive the next few days, "We...we have to keep hope." Jaune put his hand on Pyrrha's broken ankle, causing her to flinch away.  
_

_"W-what are y-you doing?" She asked._

_"Trying to see I can feel where the bone broke."_

_"O-oh. W-why don't y-you j-just use aura?"_

_"Huh?" Jaune said, and Pyrrha put her own hand on Jaune's chest, "What are you-"  
_

_"A-aura is a mani-something of our s-soul. M-my f-father said that it p-protects u-us when we n-need i-it most."_

_"Really?"_

_"J-Jaune...haven't y-you e-ever heard of a-aura?"_

_"No. My dad was supposed to teach it to me, but then I...you know._

_"Oh...I-I could u-unlock it for you s-so you can h-help h-heal my a-ankle."_

_"How do you unlock aura?"_

_"M-my f-father unlocked mine when I was l-little. S-said that it was i-important to l-learn a-at a young a-age," She closed her eyes and her palm lit up a dark red.  
_

_"Um...no offense, but do you mind not stuttering while doing this?" _

_"I-it's not my f-fault I stutter."_

_"Okay, okay, I'm sorry."_

_"T-this is a delicate process, my daddy says. If I do it wrong I could p-p-p-paralyze you."_

_"What does that mean?"_

_"J-just t-trust me and let me d-do my j-job."_

_"Alright then."_

_"F-for we c-come into passing," Pyrrha spoke slowly, "That w-we achieve i-immortality, through this we become a something of v-virtue and glory to rise a-above all. I-infinite in d-d-distance and unbound b-by d-death," She stopped._

_"You can do this," Jaune said._

_ "I-I release y-your soul, a-and by m-my shoulder, p-protect thee." Jaune raised his arms and saw that they were glowing a faint white. Pyrrha opened her eyes and gasped.  
_

_"D-did i-it w-work?" She asked, afraid that she might have done something wrong._

_"I-I don't know," Jaune said. The white light died down and he placed his palms on Pyrrha's ankle once more, "Okay aura. Do your thing!" _

_Nothing. Not even a spark of aura. Jaune frowned, "Why isn't it work-" _

_SNAP! Jaune and Pyrrha both shrieked as a sudden bolt of energy surged from Jaune's hands into Pyrrha's leg. The redhead felt a cooling sensation flow through her whole entire body, and relaxed a bit.  
_

_"Did I fix it?" Jaune asked. Pyrrha tried to move her ankle, but the bone was still broken._

_"I-I think y-you just gave me some e-energy," Pyrrha said sadly, "T-try a-again."  
_

_"Er...okay. Aura, activate or something!" Jaune stared at his palms, "I don't think you unlocked it correctly."_

_"I-I'm s-sorry."_

_"Don't be. At least I have aura. That's a step up from, ya know, not having aura," Jaune gave a quirky smile and Pyrrha giggled._

_"I-I'm glad t-that your p-positive," She said in between her laughs._

_"Yeah, I've been told that before."_

* * *

Jaune groaned, and stood up. Remnant, was she getting on his nerves, and that was hard to do since being near Weiss all the time sort of set up an "annoying nature immune system". He tightened the grip on his sword and took a step forwards.

"So, John Doe. What brings you to Mistral?" The girl asked.

"If I had a lien for every time someone's asked me that today, then I would have-" He mentally counted, "Actually not that much money. But you get what I mean!" The Invincible Thief let out a small laugh, and Jaune felt his cheeks grow warm.

_Jaune. She's about to kick your ass. Do not get all embarrassed and crap around her._

"Ahem. Still waiting for my answer," She tapped her foot impatiently.

"Oh, well. We just came here to sight-see. Explore the world. The usual sojourner stuff."

"Hmm. Well, I doubt coming to an illegal blackmarket city would be called "sight-seeing", but then again, I'm not a traveling person." The thief rubbed her palm against the cold metal of shield, "Heads up!" She tossed the round weapon at Jaune's head, the latter promptly bringing up his sword and blocking the attack.

"What the? Are you insane?"

"Yes," The girl grabbed her spear, "Now that I know you're not truly a horrible fighter-"

"Oh, I feel so flattered-"

"-only a really bad one-"

"Yep, should of seen that one coming-"

"Then I believe it's time to duel," She pointed to the restless crowd, all except Ren who were eager for bloodshed, "Or else they'll do it for us."

"Yeah, that would be bad," Jaune said.

"Indeed," The thief said with a curt nod of her head, "Are you ready?"

"Um..."

"Hi-yah!" Without a warning the crimson haired girl lunged forwards, spear raised in a deadly manner. Jaune immediately leaped back and brought up his shield to block her weapon's hit. The thief picked up her own defensive shield and twisted her wrist so that the spear would hit Jaune horizontally. Jaune ushered his sword up and the clanging of metal resonated through the arena air with a dull note.

"Hmm, have you ever considered becoming a knight, John?" The thief asked as they pressed their weapons against one another.

"..." Jaune's adrenaline was pumping to much for him to come up with a fast answer.

"Guess not," She kicked her leg up into his arm, causing the blond to fall back in pain, "You get too easily distracted."

"I do not!" Jaune jumped up and brought his sword towards the girl's chest, only for her to swiftly block it with her shield and conduct the same attack back towards him. They went like this for quite a while, the only difference being Jaune's slowly disappearing stamina and energy. He could feel the crowd's growing impatience at the fact that their undefeated hero hadn't pummeled him yet.

"So, Invincible Thief?" Jaune decided to take a risk and try to strike up a conversation. His sword clanged against hers, "Why are _you _here?"

"I was born in Mistral if that's what you mean," The Invincible Thief answered, "Lived here my whole life."

"Family?"

* * *

_"I've got them!" A soldier shouted, and seized Pyrrha's shirt before tossing her onto the gravel road. The redhead's vision was blurred with bright colors, and she called out for Jaune.  
_

_"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled, but she could tell that he was having trouble of his own. Unsheathing the sword she got her hands on a few days before, Pyrrha swung at the soldier and scowled.  
_

_"G-get away from m-me," Her stutter was still active, but the prince had helping her improve her speech and bravery, "NOW!" Her semblance went into action, causing the soldier's weapon to zoom into the air and cut the man in the arm. He let out a cry of pain and fell back as blood gushed out of his wound. Pyrrha sprinted over to the soldier trying to tie Jaune, "Leave him a-alone!" She slashed at the guard's arm and he stumbled back in surprise. Jaune cut his ropes and began to run as well._

_"Stop, what in the name of Remnant is going on!?" A male's voice screamed, and almost instantly the soldiers attacking Pyrrha and Jaune stopped and saluted. _

_"Who is that?" Jaune questioned. A bronze carriage suddenly appeared on the street and a man exited the vehicle. Pyrrha immediately recognized him as a royal, and turned around.  
_

_"Wait-" Jaune grasped her hand, "He might be able to help."_

_"A-are y-you sure?" She asked._

_"Positive." Pyrrha gulped, but allowed Jaune to help her hobble over to the carriage. Her ankle was starting to feel better,  
_

_"Sir," A soldier said, "We spotted two thieves trying to steal from our camp and were beginning to arrest them." Jaune's face turned red; he was the one who convinced Pyrrha to rob the men.  
_

_"Well," The unknown royal said, "Let me see these 'thieves.'" A solider roughly pushed the two kids up, and Pyrrha could make out the royal's face clearly now. He had soft brown eyes and hair, with pale skin and a frowning mouth. _

_"Why were you stealing from my men?" He asked.  
_

_"W-we were hungry, sir," Jaune spoke up.  
_

_"That girl is dangerous, King Nikos," The soldier who Pyrrha had attacked pointed at her, "She has a polarity semblance, and gave a deep gash in my arm."_

_"A polarity semblance..." The man named Nikos mused, a strange glint in his eyes. _

_"Please, sir," Jaune took a deep breath, "I'm Prince Jaune from Vale."_

_"Are you now?" The king said, slightly amused._

_"Yes, yes I am," Jaune raised his sword at an angle to reveal the Arc Crest, "I ran away from my home and met Pyrrha here," Pyrrha gave a sheepish wave, "We've been on the run for over a week, and I ask that you don't punish her because it was my idea to rob the soldiers."  
_

_"Aeetes, what is going on out there?" A woman's voice said from the carriage, and out popped a golden haired lady with bronze colored clothing on, "Who are these children?" She gracefully walked towards her husband and smiled warmly, "Well, hello there." Her eyes fell on Pyrrha. _

_"H-hello," Pyrrha said softly, partially hiding behind her blond friend. _

_"This is Prince Jaune and his friend Pyrrha," Nikos introduced._

_"Why are they all the way in Mistral?" The queen asked._

_"I...I ran away," Jaune said, "And ran into Pyrrha while doing so."_

_"They were caught stealing from some soldiers, but Prince Jaune here requests for Pyrrha to not be harmed. The girl has a polarity semblance, apparently."_

_"They seem interested in your power," Jaune whispered to Pyrrha, "Maybe if you show them then you won't get in trouble." Pyrrha nodded her head and brought her palms up before they ignited in a dark red aura, causing all the soldier's weapon suddenly started to shake violently.  
_

_"Amazing," Nikos said, and Pyrrha smiled nervously, "I've never seen a polarity semblance before." He glanced at his wife, "I won't punish you two-"_

_Pyrrha and Jaune let out a sigh of relief._

_"-but...I will have to inform your family, Prince Jaune, that you're here."  
_

_Jaune merely shrugged._

_"And for you, Miss Pyrrha..."_

_"Avair."_

_"Would you like to come with us to Mistral?"_

_"E-excuse m-me?" Pyrrha stammered, shocked at the king's request._

_"We've been trying to have a child for the past five years," The Queen stated, and bent down on one knee so that she was at Pyrrha's level, "Would you like to come and...stay with us a while."  
_

* * *

"My family is none of your business," She replied coldly, and Jaune saw that he had struck a nerve there.

_Better keep her on your good side for now, _He thought, "So, besides living in Mistral, why are you _here, _in this underground city?"

"Oh. I've been here most of my life as well. Discovered this place by accident, decided to learn the art of the spear and whatnot." The emerald eyed girl dodged Jaune's oncoming strike and sliced her weapon at his face. The prince put his shield up and was thrown back from the impact. His leg tripped over the other and Jaune fell down to the ground onto his spine.

"I expected a bit more, John Doe," The girl said, and began to run towards Jaune to finish him off.

"Heh, I'm just warming up," Jaune's mind flashed back to his lessons with his father on defensive moves and tactics. The thief was good, but her own cockiness kept her from completely winning. If he could just use that attitude to make her slip.._._

The thief's spear and body lunged at Jaune and he hastily lifted his foot and shield at the same time. Her eyes narrowed as Jaune placed his foot on her torso and collided his shield against her spear. Without wasting another second the prince kicked up, forcing the girl to fly up into the air and over his head. The Invincible Thief quickly extended her glowing red palm.

Glowing red palm. Jaune's eyes trailed to where her spear was located and saw that it was moving slightly to the left and off of his shield. She forced her body to swerve upwards as her weapon dug into the earthy arena and slammed her knee right into Jaune's chest.

_Ah hell, _Jaune closed his eyes and felt a searing bolt of pain emit in his heart as her leg pushed him off the floor. His hands fumbled for his sword, but just as he grabbed the hilt another wave of pain crashed into his head as the thief's blunt end of the spear knocked him flat onto the ground. The crowd roared with delight as he was injured and Jaune opened his eyes once more. The metallic taste of blood pooled his mouth and his arms shook violently as Jaune pushed himself off the dirty arena.

"Still up?"

Jaune grit his teeth and turned around to see the thief leaning on her spear in a casual manner.

"Yeah," He muttered.

"I admit, you have guts, John Doe," The girl complimented, and tipped her head to signal her respect towards the blond, "But, unfortunately, you're also dead meat."

"Then why did you call on me?" Jaune asked, determined to at least get an answer on the thief's motives, "Why choose me?"

"I never chose you," The thief said, "You chose yourself, to be up here, I mean. You chose to face me despite the fact you knew you would lose."

"Then why did you look at me like you were daring me to fight?"

"I didn't. I just looked at you like I did everyone else," The girl said in an honest tone, "Where I come from, choosing something for my own sake is a delicacy."

"Trust me, I know how that feels," Jaune mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing," Jaune took a couple of steps forwards. He could feel a bit of blood trickle down his chin and tried to ignore it.

"You're bleeding."

"Yeah, I know. Why do you care all of a sudden?" Jaune asked.

"I don't. In fact, I still wish you were lying on that cold, dead ground," She scowled.

"Why are you acting so tough? Like you have something to hide," Jaune said, seeing right through her facade, "Listen, I know you from somewhere, and I'm not leaving until I figure it out _and _get that dust crystal back."

"Then I'm afraid your journey's been in vain," But her face flashed a hint of alarm when she heard Jaune knew her from someplace. She dashed towards the prince, spear drawn, and jumped. It wasn't a game, anymore, Jaune could tell. She truly wanted him gone, but not out of money or dust, but out of _fear. _

Yes, Jaune had seen her before, and that's what she was scared of.

So...who was she?

_STOP DAYDREAMING FOR THE LOVE OF REMNANT, JAUNE!" _His mind screamed, and Jaune tumbled to the side as her weapon came barreling at the arena ground. Despite the fact that his mouth was all bloody and his arms about to break off from exhaustion, Jaune knew that he had to keep fighting in order to get some answers. Without a warning, the thief's leg flew up and collided with Jaune's gut, sending the prince backwards and into her zooming gold shield. His head rattled as the metal knocked him squarely in the skull and he nearly dropped to his knees.

"Who are you?" He yelled, dodging another attack, "I know you from somewhere and I'm not from Mistral."

"Well, I don't know you," The thief retorted, and landed a hit on his shoulder, causing blood to flow freely, "So you must be mistaken."

"That's the thing," Jaune tried not to scream in frustration, as he had dropped his sword in order to stop the blood from leaving his body. Now, he was utterly weaponless minus his newly made shield, "I _do _know you from somewhere, I just can't figure it out." Ignoring the boos from the crowd, he walked slowly towards the girl, shield raised in a surrendering motion, "Maybe...maybe that's why I chose to fight you, not just because you have something that's could possibly blow this place to bits."

"I..."

Jaune peered closer at her face, at her vivid emerald eyes. At her crimson hair and at her now insecure expression. That same expression that he remembered from over eight years ago.

A stuttering girl. A rainy night. A promise. A broken _ankle. _Jaune glanced at the somewhat crooked thief's foot.

A faulty ankle that could only be caused by a broken bone not healing correctly.

Jaune's mouth fell open as the sudden realization hit him, "Y-your. You're Pyrrha."

"What did you say?" The girl said in a dangerously soft voice.

"You were that girl. The one I saved. You were there," Another piece of truth slapped Jaune in the face, "You're-

_CRASH! _A sickening crack of bone splitting almost caused Jaune to yell out in agony, but he kept his pain masked as Pyrrha pummeled his arm with her spear. Her once sparkling eyes now full of rage, her face now furious.

"That, is going too far-" She hissed, "I may not know you that well, but that does not give you any excuse to reveal my identity."

"And why shouldn't I?" Jaune asked, ignoring the immense pain he was feeling in his broken bones, "You're a princ-

_BAM! _Another sharp crack emitted into his ears as Pyrrha's shield slammed into his leg. Jaune brought up his shield.

"That's it!" Pyrrha yelled, and charged at the now almost unconscious prince. The world seemed to completely freeze as her spear made contact with his shield. As Jaune covered his face and waited for the final blow to happen.

It never did.

A bright light filled his vision, and Jaune didn't have time to question what was going on before a new found strength coursed through his veins and mind. His bone felt instantly better and his shield seemed to give off a burning white glow. Pyrrha's spear suddenly rocketed backwards, as well as the thief herself, and her whole body was flung carelessly out of the arena square. A loud _boom _echoed throughout everyone's' heads as the crowd realized what had just perspired.

Jaune had won. The once Invincible Thief had just been thrown sky-high out of the battle zone. He had actually _done _it.

The crowd's reply was instantaneous. The roars and shouts of those who had lost their bets, of those of who voted for the thief seemed to spiral off the arena walls and all over the place. Jaune shakily stood up, his mouth now mysteriously having stopped bleeding, and spun his head around as he saw the audience going wild over the fact that he had knocked their greatest fighter out of the ring.

Oh, wait a minute. A burst of worry shot through his mind as he noticed that the once victorious girl was swiftly exiting the scene, the dust crystal still in her hand.

"Hey!" Jaune shouted, and took off after Pyrrha. She was NOT going to get away from him again, "Come back here!" Jaune flung himself forwards and grasped her trailing sash, causing the thief to trip and fall face first, "I still need answers and that crystal."

_CHING. _The sound of Pyrrha's spear being brought out made Jaune's blood run cold. The thief gave a sly smile before kicking Jaune up in the air and hurling her weapon at his shoulder pads.

"Sorry, _Prince Jaune_," The spear glowed a dark red and was shot at the prince at a lightning fast speed. Jaune barely had time to mentally curse himself (and her) before being jolted backwards. The wind roared in his ears as he flew past the crowd and Keith before being pinned to the stone walls.

Being pinned to a stone wall by a Princess Thief in an underground secret city. Well, Jaune could cross that off of things he wanted to do before he died. He looked down below and saw that Pyrrha had managed to jam his clothing into the city's rock wall up to a pretty impressive height.

Pyrrha. Jaune knew that he remembered her from somewhere. Remnant, had she changed. From stuttering girl to super badass thief. The memory was vague, almost like a dream, and Jaune hadn't dwelt on it for a long time.

Well, until getting his ass kicked by Nikos's daughter. Jaune reached up and grabbed the hilt of the spear. With a lame grunt, he tried to pry the weapon out of the stone, but it was futile.

"Jaune!" A voice called from below, and Jaune glanced down to see Ren standing there with his arms crossed and foot tapping, "What were you thinking!?"

"Uh..." Jaune pointed to the spear embedded in his clothes, "You mind getting me down first?" Ren sighed, and snapped his hands. A faint glow of aura encircled the spear.

"Pull," The magenta eyed boy instructed.

"Er, okay," Jaune pulled on the weapon and it instantly popped out, "Finally I-"

_THUD. _

"I would slap you for your stupidity, but you've already slapped yourself more than the needed amount," Ren smirked as he watched his blond friend faceplant into the ground thanks to the force of gravity.

"Harsh, Ren, harsh," Jaune muttered, "You know, I just beat the bloody Invincible Thief, so can you at least give me from credit?"

"I admit, I did not expect you to survive that long," Ren helped Jaune stand up and smiled grimly, "But you did do well."

"Not well enough though," Jaune said miserably, "I let her get away."

"Why did she suddenly go a bit..."

"Insane? Because I recognized who she truly is," Jaune leaned in closer to that only Ren could hear him, "She's the Princess of Mistral. Pyrrha Nikos. I remember her from when I was, like, nine of something."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Isn't that the story you were telling me before, when you-"

"Unlocked my aura? Yeh. In fact, it was her who did it."

"What?"

"Pyrrha. She unlocked my aura that night," Almost right on cue his own aura kicked in and the pounding in his head began to clear away, "She was adopted by the Mistral Family after a run-in with them.

"Hmm...that's a bit odd."

"That's fate for you," Jaune groaned, "Very, very painful fate." He noticed Ren picking up Pyrrha's left behind spear, "What are you-"

"It has the Nikos Emblem on it too," Ren stated, and held the spear at an angle so that the symbol was visible.

"Your point?"

"This is our way into the palace grounds. Into getting help."

"...Excuse me?"

"You know what emblems are for, right?"

"Yeah. They're basically like keys, letting important figures know that you're part of that section of the family that the emblem belongs too," Jaune, realized Ren's plan, "We can't just waltz right into Nikos's castle and expect them to let us in because of this spear. What about Nyx's soldiers?" He shuddered at the very thought of making the somewhat disturbing general angry.

"That's why we'll sneak into the castle grounds and hopefully find Nikos ourselves. I highly doubt that he's as busy as Nyx says he is. Besides, if we get caught, we'll just tell them that we came to return the spear. You can't just punish someone for trying to give something that belongs to them, back."

"Yeah, but...you can arrest someone for trespassing."

"It's the only plan I can think of, Prince Jaune. With the thief gone, not the mention the fact that she's actually the daughter of the bloody Mistral king, then we don't any other way to get into that castle!"

"Alright, alright. But you better make sure that we don't get our heads chopped off for this," Jaune let out a sigh and stared at the thief's spear. Why was she so mad at him? You would think that saving a person's life and meeting them again would lead to a pat on the back or a 'thank you'.

But, of course, thanks to Jaune's luck, he ended up angering her and getting pinned to wall.

That led to the other question nagging Jaune's mind. Why did she give him the spear? Was she really that desperate to rid herself of Jaune? Or maybe the spear meant nothing to her. Maybe she had hundreds of them at her castle.

"Uh...Prince Jaune?" Ren said, and shook his friend's shoulder lightly. Jaune blinked a few times.

"I'm fine...just thinking."

"Was she really important, you know, in your past?"

Was she? Jaune knew that Pyrrha meant a lot to him when they first met. She was shy, quiet, and gave Jaune a reason to keep fighting to survive. Because of her he managed to find a way back home to his family.

So...why was Pyrrha mad? Why did she seem furious at Jaune when he realized who she was? Remnant, Jaune felt like an idiot for not being able to figure out the most simplest, yet complex, set of questions he had dealt with in his life.

"Hey, Jaune?" Ren interrupted his thoughts again.

"Yeah?" Jaune said.

"You coming?" Ren pointed the spear, _her _spear, towards the arena exit tunnel, "I was poking around a bit in the crowd and found out that in order to get back to the surface you have to, er...get literally blasted up."

"What?!

"Cave geysers. A great way to travel, apparently," Ren said.

"Is any part of this city sane?!" Jaune exclaimed.

"COMING THROUGH!" A loud voice said, and Jaune felt a sharp blade nick his ear as a battle axe came zooming past his head and into the stone next to him. Eyes wide, Jaune slowly, very slowly, gulped and walked towards Ren.

"That...would be a no, Prince Jaune."

* * *

_Pyrrha blinked several times, her whole body feeling numb. A daughter...a King's daughter to be more exact. For anyone that sounded wonderful, completely spectacular._

_But...what about her father. What about Jaune? Did she really want to give up all that? _

_"Pyrrha..." Jaune said, and turned her head so that she was looking at him, "I know what you're thinking, but...we have no idea if your father's alive. If anyone you know, besides me, is alive anymore. But this is a new chance. You can turn all the bad things that have happened into good."_

_Pyrrha didn't speak._

_"This is life-changi-"_

_"B-but what about y-you?" Pyrrha asked._

_"I promise I'll be able to see you again," Jaune said, and held up his finger, "Pinky-promise."_

_"Huh?"_

_"It's something my mother does sometimes," He said in a hushed tone, "It's only for things that you truly mean."  
_

_"R-really?"_

_"Really," The two shared a knowing look, one that summed up everything they'd been through, everything they felt for each other. Pyrrha raised her own pinky and the two interlocked their fingers.  
_

_"Well, we should be going by now," The queen said, and beckoned for Pyrrha and Jaune to follow her into the carriage.  
_

_"I'll have one of my advisers send a letter to King John and his wife to let them know that their son is alive and okay," Nikos said. Jaune grasped Pyrrha's warm palm and the two swung their arms like...well, children. Not knowing that the blond was right, everything was going to change.  
_

_Yes, everything was going to change._

_Just maybe not for better. _

* * *

A/N: Yep, long chapter. I'm starting to like writing really long chapter, as it enables me to get more depth and volume. So, one more chapter for the Invincible Thief Arc before heading on over to Team RWY and seeing what they've been up too. *Spoiler* it may or may not involve fire.

And guess what? I have 56 followers! Thank you all so much for your support! I hope you like the chapter and don't forget to leave a review if you can!


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